A white male suspect armed with a rifle barricaded himself inside an apartment building just west of Koreatown this morning, resulting in the yellow-taping of the small localized area. That building and the surroundings were evacuated.
Reportedly, the man was evading arrest and shut himself inside Apartment 6 of 331 S Gramercy Place. LAPD received the first call about an assault with a deadly weapon at a little before 10:30 am. Soon after, police helicopters, LAPD cruisers, and the Special Weapons and Tactics team converged on the area.
Gramercy Place between Third and Fourth Streets was closed to traffic, as was eventually Third Street between Wilton Place and St. Andrews Place.
Multiple “shots” were heard at 2:25 pm, but these turned out to be non-lethal flashbangs containing gas/smoke that the LAPD had tossed into the apartment to disorient the suspect. LAPD had given him admonitions over a loudspeaker several times to voluntarily come out.
Several more explosive sounds were heard at around 3:00 PM, and a SWAT member wearing a gas mask was seen retrieving a battering ram from the SWAT vehicle. At 3:15 PM, the suspect emerged from the building planked by officers on both sides. He was placed into a police car and driven south on Gramercy for a few feet, then taken out of the vehicle to be examined by paramedics for his exposure to gas/smoke. This appeared to be precautionary because the suspect was fully conscious and alert, with little trace of disorientation.
Police left the area after 20 minutes. Please note that this incident was technically west of the boundaries of Koreatown, as defined by the City Council in 2010.
As this standoff was happening, a shooting incident occurred in the area of 7th and Hoover involving two Latino suspects at a little before 2:00 pm. A unit was pulled from the 3rd/Gramercy scene and sent over to the area of La Fayette Park.
Also at around 3:00 PM, police were called to the Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese store at 223 N. Larchmont Boulevard (just a few blocks west of Wilton) for an alleged theft.
Source: @Koreatown on Twitter and officers of the Wilshire, Olympic, & Hollywood Divisions
