Officer Shot, Injured By Suspect During Disturbance At Granada Hills Ralphs Supermarket
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- A Los Angeles police officer was expected to make a full recover after he was shot Sunday night during a supermarket standoff in Granada Hills.
The incident began with a disturbance inside a Ralphs grocery store located at Devonshire and Balboat in Granada Hills.
"He was on top of our coolers," Chris Guerrero, a stocker at the store told KCAL9/CBS2. "From what I was told, he fell from the roof, so I'm guessing he went hiding in the roof and the ceiling collapsed on him and he just went straight down to the freezer."
The man was seen and heard yelling at customers from on top of that freezer -- part of which was captured on cellphone video by a witness.
Not long after, police arrived at the scene as the suspect continued to grow more agitated.
"They called for backup and some more police came in," said witness Peter Genovese. "They started bringing in their riot gear and non-lethal weapons and I think that upset the guy even more. At some point, he jumped off (the freezer)..."
Police said from there, the man ran to the back of the store and opened fire on officers inside the Ralphs just before 6:30 p.m.
Officers did return fire, but the suspect was not struck. He fled from the Ralphs and ran into a nearby convenience store, where there was a standoff with officers for about half an hour.
Eventually, he surrendered to police and was taken into custody. At last check, the suspect was being evaluated at a hospital.
The suspect was taken into custody and to a local hospital for evaluation.
The officer was treated and released from the hospital with a hand injury and is expected to make a full recovery, the LAPD said.
No customers or additional officers were struck by the gunfire, but police said there were reports of an assault inside the store in connection to the incident that they are also looking into.
