LOS ANGELES, CA — The driver of a Maserati got into a gunfight on live TV with Los Angeles Police Department officers after leading authorities on a chase along the Harbor (110) Freeway Tuesday afternoon. At least two people, including the Maserati driver, were wounded by police gunfire.
It ended in a parking area behind an apartment complex in the 100 block of Jefferson Boulevard in West Adams, where the driver exited the Maserati and walked toward police officers, pointing two handguns at the officers. They opened fire on him. He fell to the ground as television news helicopters circled above.
The chase began about 12:25 p.m. near Gaffey and 19th streets, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police said officers were initially contacted by a DASH bus driver — who was apparently the victim of the alleged domestic violence assault. The bus driver reported that the 38-year-old suspect was following the bus in the San Pedro area. The exact nature of the relationship between the bus driver and the suspect was still under investigation, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said.
Officers initially spotted the suspect pulled over on the Harbor (110) Freeway, but as officers approached, the suspect sped away, beginning the pursuit, the chief said.
Officers chased the suspect in a white Maserati on the northbound 110 Freeway and then on surface streets in the Ladera Heights area and eventually into a residential neighborhood near West and Jefferson boulevards.
The suspect then pulled into a driveway, parked the car behind an apartment building and casually walked back along the driveway toward the street, where police were waiting. Video from the scene showed the suspect then raising both arms, apparently with guns in both hands pointed toward officers, who returned fire, leaving the suspect injured.
Footage from the scene showed the driver, who was wanted by police on suspicion of domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon, down on the ground. His condition was not immediately known.
Two guns were seen on the ground near the suspect, along with a large amount of blood. Dozens of evidence markers — likely the locations of shell casings — were on the ground near the suspect and on the street where officers were situated.
The suspect was eventually treated by paramedics and wheeled on a gurney toward an ambulance to be taken to a hospital.
A female bystander who appeared to be approaching the suspect from the apartment building when the shooting broke out was later treated by paramedics on the scene for what officers called a gunshot wound to an arm. McDonnell said that person was taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
Police detained three people in connection with the chase and shootout, including the woman who had been shot in the arm, according to the LAPD. They were seen being taken away by police in handcuffs.
McDonnell said no officers were injured, and it was unclear exactly how many of them opened fire or how many shots were fired in total.
“It was very quick. It was something that — thank God no officers were injured during this — but this kind of shows just what our officers are facing our there every day, confronting a suspect who’s going to do what they gotta do to try to get away,” McDonnell said.
It was the second time in ten days a shooting occurred in connection with domestic violence attacks on bus drivers in Los Angeles. On Nov. 16, a driver on break was shot in the face by an ex-boyfriend, according to the LAPD.
See Also: Bus Driver Shot By Ex-Boyfriend In Hollywood, Suspect At Large: LAPD
City News Service contributed to this report.
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