LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A 94-year-old man was the victim of a vicious carjacking in East Los Angeles on Wednesday, setting off a dangerous chase that culminated in a police officer shooting and killing the suspect.
The incident began at approximately 2:20 p.m., when officers discovered a vehicle that had been stolen that morning.
The vehicle, a grey sedan, belongs to Gustavo Herrera Gomez.
Gomez spoke to Eyewitness News on Thursday about the incident, saying it all started when he moved his car and put a trash can in the parking lot. When Gomez returned to his car, he was approached by the suspect.
“He told me, ‘Get out! Get out!'”
Gomez got out of the car, but seconds later the suspect jumped back in his vehicle and fled.
“I’m a human being and I’m a Catholic, but it hurts my heart when terrible things like this happen,” said Gomez, who was not injured in the incident.
He immediately called police and filed a stolen vehicle report.
The Chaotic Pursuit Begins
A hot pursuit ensued after the suspect, whose identity has not been released, fled in Gomez’s vehicle.
Officers attempted to pull over the suspect, and the car stopped, but the driver put it in reverse and crashed into a sheriff’s patrol vehicle, said Lt. Patricia Thomas of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Division.
Thomas said this is considered assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.
The pursuit continued north on the 710 Freeway in the east Los Angeles area, before the driver veered onto the westbound 10 Freeway where traffic was lighter.
The suspect then got onto the 101 Freeway and exited at Alameda Avenue, where he allegedly did the same thing again, before stopping and backing into multiple police vehicles.
The pursuit continued into the Pico-Union area, where he weaved through traffic, onto a sidewalk near Vermont and Venice and crashed into a light pole, before a police SUV clipped into his rear bumper a short time later.
He had apparently pressed his foot on the accelerator while in reverse, causing the car’s wheels to spin on the spot and smoke to billow from the tyres.
Police officers open fire
At one point, the suspect appeared to put one hand out the window and speak to officers, with smoke still coming from the wheel, prompting officers to fire multiple times.
“The suspect appears to have been involved in a traffic accident where he drove onto the sidewalk, struck a light pole and then backed into a patrol vehicle, resulting in an officer-involved shooting,” Thomas said.
Footage from Air7 shows at least two officers firing at least 11 rounds, penetrating the back window and interior of the vehicle and leaving at least five bullet holes in the windshield. It is unclear how many bullets struck the suspect.
At the end of the pursuit, four officers were on scene.
The driver was taken to a local hospital, where he was described in critical condition at a press conference Wednesday.
No officers were reportedly injured in the encounter. The California Department of Justice is investigating the incident.
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