Jan. 05--The search for a man suspected in a monthlong series of violent crimes came to an end Monday afternoon when police shot and wounded the 32-year-old at the end of a chase on the 5 Freeway in Sun Valley, the LAPD said.
Both directions of the freeway were closed near Glenoaks Boulevard after the shooting, which police said occurred about 3:30 p.m. when Artyom Gasparyan drove the wrong way on the freeway, crashed his vehicle into another car and fled on foot.
It was not immediately clear what happened in the moments leading up to the shooting, but LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery said a gun was recovered at the scene that police believe was used in the crime rampage.
Gasparyan was shot multiple times, Montgomery said, and taken to a hospital for treatment.
Detectives with the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division have worked around the clock in recent days to find Gasparyan, who is suspected in a crime rampage that began Dec. 6 and stretched across Los Angeles County.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck made an appearance at the shooting scene Monday, telling reporters he had more than 100 detectives and several hundred officers working to track Gasparyan down. Beck called the 32-year-old a "very, very dangerous individual."
The crimes included carjacking, robbery and multiple shootings, including one that left a 37-year-old man dead in Panorama City, police said.
Burbank police identified Gasparyan as their suspect in a Dec. 9 shooting that left two people wounded. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Gasparyan was also suspected in a Dec. 29 armed robbery in West Hollywood, where a delivery person was held at gunpoint, robbed and then shot.
A day later, the 37-year-old man was shot near Van Nuys Boulevard and Plummer Street in Panorama City. LAPD Capt. Billy Hayes, who heads the Robbery-Homicide Division, confirmed Gasparyan was considered a suspect in that killing.
Police went public with their search for Gasparyan on Saturday, a day after his alleged accomplice crashed a stolen vehicle in a Long Beach neighborhood, ending a police pursuit that began on the 105 Freeway in Carson. Daniel Ramirez ran into a nearby home, where police say he shot and wounded two men and stabbed their father in the face before turning the gun on himself.
Ramirez, who would have turned 26 today, died Saturday evening at a hospital. Coroner's officials said he suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
