Inglewood Shooting Suspect Surrenders After 8-Hour Standoff; Hostages Safe
INGLEWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A man who exchanged gunfire with police, took two females hostage and barricaded himself inside an Inglewood home Wednesday has surrendered to authorities after a nearly eight-hour standoff.
A district attorney's office official confirmed to CBS2/KCAL9 News the suspected gunman, a 45-year-old male with a criminal history, is in custody.
The hostages, believed to be the suspect's girlfriend and her 14-year-old daughter, are not harmed and have been taken to the South Los Angeles Sheriff's station for questioning, LASD Lt. Dave Dolson said.
The initial shooting happened around 12:35 p.m. at a residence in the 10700 block of South 5th Avenue, near 108th Street, after police received a call about a domestic disturbance in which the suspect was seen dragging a minor into the house.
Inglewood police confirmed two officers were hit when the suspect opened fire.
One of the officers was struck in a bullet-resistant vest, suffering blunt force trauma injuries. He was admitted to Centinela Hospital and transferred to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he is in stable condition. The other officer suffered minor injuries falling while trying to protect her partner, police said. She has been released from Centinela Hospital.
A SWAT team was on the scene Wednesday evening as one of the hostages was being held by the suspect, who was threatening to shoot her if police didn't stand down.
At least two children were seen being carried from the residence by authorities just before 2 p.m., according to early reports.
The shooting suspect had communicated with authorities, who evacuated the surrounding block and asked residents to stay away from the area until further notice. After nearly eight hours of negotiations, he surrendered peacefully.
"Sometimes these things just take time and I guess finally the negotiators built trust with the suspect and he felt like he would be fairly treated and safely taken into custody," Lt. Dolson said.
"He didn't make any demands. He did what we asked him to do: exit the house unarmed with his hands in the air."
The suspect's identity has not yet been released.
Police do not know what triggered the incident.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Hawthorne police are aiding Inglewood police with the investigation.
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