LAPD officer hit in ballistic vest, suspect wounded as shots exchanged after Boyle Heights pursuit
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A Los Angeles police officer suffered a gunshot to his ballistic vest and an armed suspect was wounded Tuesday after a wild gun battle erupted at the end of a high-speed pursuit in Boyle Heights.
During a press conference after the incident, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the gun battle unfolded as the suspect fled on foot, and a round hit the officer in the chest, but his protective vest absorbed the force of the bullet.
McDonnell said shortly after 2 p.m., LAPD officers in the Newton Division saw a man with a gun in a pickup truck and tried to stop him, initiating a pursuit that started at around Washington and Alameda boulevards.
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With police cruisers chasing him, the suspect crashed the black truck into a fence in Boyle Heights as he attempted a left turn. McDonnell said the man “got out of the vehicle and ran. As he was running, he was firing upon the officers.”
“One officer was struck in the chest at least once; thankfully, he had a ballistic vest on that saved his life,” the chief said. “The suspect continued firing at officers, and multiple officers fired at him. The suspect was shot.”
According to McDonnell, the gunman was in critical condition and undergoing surgery while the officer is “going to be okay”
The gun battle unfolded near Marietta and Garnet streets at about 2:15 p.m. Helicopter footage from several TV stations captured images of the shooter running with something in his waistband. He was then seen drawing a handgun as he ran and firing toward chasing officers. In the aftermath, he was seen lying on the ground, moving before officers with guns drawn moved in and apprehended him.
An armed man wanted in the alleged attempted murder of a sheriff’s deputy was taken into custody after getting into a standoff with a SWAT team.
“Looking at the suspect’s actions, anyone in the community could have been taken out by his actions, so we are very thankful,” McDonnell said. “We did recover a gun at the scene, right where the suspect went down.”
The chief praised the officer who got hit. “Our officer put everything on the line to take the suspect into custody.” He said officers from three or four police cruisers chased the suspect when he crashed.
McDonnell said he cannot say how many shots were fired by the gunman who initiated the gunfire. “There are a lot of casings out there,” he explained. ‘“From what I saw in the video, he fired first.”
The chief said his detectives are working to get an identification on the suspect.
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