The Vette Barn - Possible Hostage Situation at Silver Lake Trader Joe’s Store

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Possible Hostage Situation at Silver Lake Trader Joe’s Store

Quote:

Possible Hostage Situation Reported at Silver Lake Trader Joe’s Store: LAPD

Posted 4:32 PM, July 21, 2018, by CNN Wire, Updated at 05:58PM, July 21, 2018

An armed man barricaded himself inside a Trader Joe’s grocery store in Silver Lake, possibly with hostages, prompting a massive police response Saturday afternoon.

Events began with a shooting in the 1600 block of 32nd Street around 1:30 p.m. in which an elderly woman and a young woman were victims, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez told CNN.

The suspect fled in a 2015 Toyota Camry and during a police pursuit, the suspect fired multiple rounds at officers, Lopez said. None of the officers was injured.

The chase ended when the suspect crashed the vehicle, got out and ran into the store on Hyperion Avenue, Lopez said. Customers ran out of the store, he added.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said a 20-year-old female patient was transferred to a hospital in fair condition. She was removed from a vehicle, not the inside of the store, Stewart said.

“We are on standby and prepared to support but no confirmation how many patients may be inside,” Stewart added.

The mayor of Los Angeles and President Donald Trump both tweeted about the incident.

Public safety agencies responded in force, with an armored police vehicle parked outside the store and seven ambulances and dozens of law enforcement vehicles arriving on the scene.

Aerial video shot from a helicopter showed armed officers carrying shields and a man walking out with his hands up.

The video also showed officers carrying a person who appeared to be injured, as well as people climbing out of a store window and down a rope ladder.

https://ktla.com/2018/07/21/possible...es-store-lapd/

Suspect in custody but they’re reporting one fatality.

65 minutes :toetap:

Did the supect get stuck in traffic? :island14:

:sadangel: for the fatality

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milton Fox (Post 1637366)

65 minutes :toetap:

Did the supect get stuck in traffic? :island14:

:sadangel: for the fatality

65 minutes? What is the question/criticism?

Quote:

Suspect in Trader Joe's deadly shooting ID'd; held on $2 million bail

A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after he shot and killed a Trader Joe's employee Saturday when he held workers and customers hostage during a more than two-hour standoff.

Gene Evin Atkins is being held on a $2 million bail, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department website stated. Atkins was taken into custody around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, more than two hours after he ran into the Trader Joe's in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles and barricaded himself.

About two hours before, Atkins shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman, who he forced into a car. Atkins drove to the supermarket and ran inside after crashing his vehicle into a pole. He barricaded himself inside and held dozens of employees and customers hostage.

Moments after shots rang out in the supermarket, employee Sean Gerace and helped several of his colleagues escape. Gerace told NBC Los Angeles he was working in the backroom when he heard the commotion around 3 p.m. He and his colleagues ran to an upstairs storage area for safety.

"I grabbed an emergency ladder, barricaded the hallway, grabbed a weapon, put the ladder out the window, and just tried to get the attention of a SWAT officer," Gerace recalled.

Gerace was seen on video signaling to police officers at the scene before he and other employees climbed down the ladder. He helped other workers out of the building before running to safety.

Meanwhile, gunfire erupted between the suspect in the store and police officers outside.

“It was a matter of split seconds between the time he got out, the boom-boom-boom and him running into the store,” Dan Zito, who was outside of the store when the incident occurred, told the Los Angeles Times.

Lynne Westafer, a Trader Joe’s employee, told KCAL she didn’t know the alleged gunman had shot his grandmother several times before the hostage situation.

“He said he would start killing us if he didn’t get to talk to his granny,” Westafer recalled. “And he would start counting down from five — and that was terrifying.”

“I’m mostly angry, I’m still furious. There were moments of total terror. He loved the power and he was going to milk the situation,” she said about the terrifying situation.

The standoff ended when Atkins agreed to handcuff himself and walked out the front door, surrounded by four of the hostages. He was injured when he was taken into custody, police said.

"The heroism that was shown today was second to none and the teams that were able to respond, secure the perimeter and engage in conversation with the suspect no doubt saved lives today," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. "Our hearts go out to everyone who has been traumatized."

A woman, identified by her family and local media as Melyda Corado, was killed during the shootout and standoff. Corado, who was a recently promoted store manager, was pulled out of the store by employees and pronounced dead at the scene.

“They were just so devastated,” Westafer said about the staff who found out about Corado’s death. “Everyone loved her. They’re destroyed. She was in her late 20s. It’s heartbreaking. I can’t even tell you how upset they are.”

The grandmother who was shot seven times was in critical condition while the other woman suffered a grazing wound.

Fire officials said six people, ranging in age from 12 to 81, were taken to the hospital. None had been shot and all were in fair condition.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/07/22...situation.html

Death Penalty...no doubt he did it. Multiple witnesses. They should end him and save us all the tax dollars feeding that turd.

but, but, but they have very strict gun laws in CA, how could this happen? :slap:

When it's so obvious that he is the criminal, call it as such instead of suspect.

^^^^

But, but you might upset someone's tender feelies.

Eyewitness interview on CNN called the suspect a "Buff, Sexy Black Man" - Not bullshitting you, true story. Google it. Fuggin Silver Lake. :Jeff '79:

That said, condolences for the victim(s)/family etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wathen1955 (Post 1637479)

When it's so obvious that he is the criminal, call it as such instead of suspect.

Somehow letting the press decide who is guilty doesn't sound like a good idea.

There's a poster on FreeRepublic that says she was one of the hostages.

Her screen name is BunnySlippers or something like that.

Shot by police. Although it was an accident, I’d hate to be the cop that shot her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VatorMan (Post 1637680)

Shot by police. Although it was an accident, I’d hate to be the cop that shot her.

Yes, very sad. I'm sure there were video cameras in the store, but I won't pass any judgement without there being a full investigation and all the facts being shown.

A person who had already murdered a family member and taken a hostage while also shooting at pursuing officers drew police fire into a store occupied by staff and customers.

I am pretty sure I know who is to blame. :toetap:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milton Fox (Post 1637687)

I'll reserve judgement until a department investigation shows whether the officers operated within departmental policy or not. That's standard procedure. Except on the internet, of course.:D

Also, he hadn't murdered a family member, although he certainly tried. He shot his grandmother seven times, but she was alive. In California, he can still be charged with murder even if she survives, because of the woman who was killed at the store, no matter who shot her, because it happened as a result of him committing other crimes.