Suspect Who Opened Fire, Barricaded Himself Inside South LA Home In Custody
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A more than two-hour standoff situation ended after police fired tear gas inside the house and took the armed suspect into custody Tuesday night.
The situation began just before 5 p.m. when officers from the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a house in the 1200 block of E. 27th Street after a man allegedly opened fire inside the home.
Area homes were evacuated as a precaution with neighbors standing in the streets nearby, but out of harm's way.
"We initially evacuated everyone, and then we reassessed the situation," officer Tony Im of the LAPD said. "If there were elderly people who needed to go home for medications or things like that, we would escort them inside."
When the man continued to barricade himself inside, LAPD sent in its special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team to try to end the situation. According to police, the man continued to fire shots, but it was unclear whether he was firing at officers or simply at targets inside the home.
The two-and-a-half hour standoff ended when the SWAT team rammed through the front gate of the home's property and fired tear gas inside to smoke the suspect out. A man in a red shirt emerged from the home to surrender to police.
"Time is on our side," Im said. "We're never rushed to harm anyone. However long it takes, we want a safe and peaceful ending."
LAPD recovered a weapon at the scene. The suspect underwent a mental evaluation.
There were no injuries reported.
