An Inglewood, California man, who barricaded himself inside a house after taking two female hostages, surrendered to authorities after an eight-hour standoff on Wednesday. Several shots were fired as officers arrived at a residence on South 5th Avenue at 12:35 p.m., after a call concerning a domestic disturbance.
The suspect, a 45-year-old male with a criminal record, according to a district attorney’s office, was seen dragging a minor into the house, said to be the 14-year-old daughter of his girlfriend, who was also taken hostage. The hostages were unharmed during the standoff, and were taken to the South Los Angeles Sheriff’s station for questioning.
When police and SWAT team members arrived on the scene, the suspect claimed he was going to shoot his girlfriend, if the officers didn’t stand down. An exchange of gunfire ensued, and one of the officers was hit in his bullet-proof vest, and suffered blunt force trauma injuries. His partner was also injured during a fall while protecting him, and she suffered minor injuries. Both were taken to Centinela Hospital. The officer shot was then transferred to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he is listed as being in stable condition.
IPD is thankful for the support received during the officer-involved shooting incident. Thank you for your prayers. pic.twitter.com/FcafqEK4p3
— Inglewood Police (@Inglewood_PD) November 28, 2013
After roughly eight hours of negotiations, the suspect surrendered peacefully. LASD Lt. Dave Dolson commented, “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. He didn’t make any demands. He did what we asked him to do: exit the house unarmed with his hands in the air.”
Police aren’t yet sure what triggered the hostage situation, and the suspect’s identity has not yet been released.
In related California news, “revenge porn” is now officially banned in that state.
Image via Twitter.