Police in Los Angeles have stormed a restaurant and shot and killed a suspected carjacker who had barricaded himself inside with hostages following a dramatic chase through the city.
Sheriff’s deputies threw flashbang grenades and charged into the restaurant amid a blaze of gunfire on Thursday night, ending a pursuit and stand-off captured on television news.
The drama began just before 7pm local time when a California highway patrol helicopter detected a stolen car with Lo-Jack, a tracking system to recover stolen vehicles, a spokesman told local media.
ICYMI This PIT maneuver brought an end to a high-speed #pursuit in Downey before a standoff ensued. Standoff now over pic.twitter.com/KyeSoDIDCN
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) September 11, 2015
Police were monitoring the suspect, who was reportedly armed, when he crashed the vehicle and carjacked a motorist at gunpoint.
A person thought to be the victim exited the car and the suspect behind the wheel then led police on a high-speed chase for 45 minutes through eastern LA, breaking stop signs, driving on the wrong side of the road and nearly crashing into other motorists.
Police reportedly used a precision immobilization technique, a so-called Pit maneuver, to force their quarry to abruptly turn sideways, causing him to lose control and stop near Lakewood Boulevard and the 5 Freeway in Downey, south east of downtown LA.
The suspect appeared to fire shots as he ran to Chris & Pitts barbecue restaurant, inside which were dozens of diners, including children, and barricaded himself as police swarmed outside. Many of the diners walked out unimpeded and said the suspect, dressed in a dark shirt and jeans, was armed with a semi-automatic weapon.
Police stormed the restaurant shortly before 9pm amid a blaze of gunfire. They emerged with two men in handcuffs.
A spokesman later confirmed that deputies had killed the suspect. His identity, and that of the handcuffed men, remained unclear.
