Caught on Video: Armed robbery suspects shot at by LAPD near Melrose and Fairfax
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Police Department released security video of two masked men robbing a clothing store, along with body-worn camera footage from officers who fired on the pair as they came out of the store.
The incident, which CBSLA reported on at the time, took place on June 14, at around 6:50 p.m. in the area of Melrose and Fairfax Avenues.
"It was a very traumatizing experience," said Dawn Rad, owner of Pop Up LA, the store next door to where the robbery occurred.
Video from inside the store that was robbed shows the two suspects attacking a man behind the counter, who attempted to fight them off. LAPD edited the video to highlight what it says was a gun used by one of the suspects.
Officers with LAPD's Wilshire Division, according to a department press release, were flagged down by a person who told them that the clothing store was being robbed.
Body-worn camera footage shows the suspects running out of the store just as officers approached. LAPD slows the video down in portions in order to label the suspects' guns.
"The officers gave both suspects verbal commands to stop and drop their weapons," LAPD Cpt. Kelly Muniz said. "However, the suspects refused to comply with the commands and one of the suspects began to raise his handgun, resulting in an officer-involved shooting."
One of the men, according to police, dropped his weapon as they fled to a black SUV and sped off, going westbound on Melrose. LAPD said the recovered firearm was a loaded semiautomatic handgun.
Police did try to chase the SUV, but a search of the area came up empty and the suspects got away.
Rad said that the incident, as well as others in the area, has hurt business, but that she doesn't have a solution on how to curb the violence.
"There's way too much to say of what needs to be done, but not enough effort," Rad said.
It is unclear if either of the two men were hit by police gunfire. One officer received a minor injury during the incident, was transported to the hospital and released.
Police are still looking for the two suspects, while detectives with LAPD's Force Investigation Division continue to investigate the police shooting.
