2 Security Guards Shot After Confronting Shoplifter

UPDATE Jan 1, 2025 9:34 AM CST

A man suspected of shooting two security guards at a Los Angeles shopping plaza was arrested Tuesday after a long standoff with officers. KTLA reports that the suspect was arrested an an apartment complex a few blocks from where the guards were shot in a Target store Monday night. The LAPD says the standoff began at an apartment in the Westlake district around 11:30am and finished more than five hours later, reports NBC Los Angeles. Tear gas canisters were thrown into the apartment where the man had barricaded himself, per KTLA. Police say the two guards were shot after they confronted a man trying to make off with more than $1,000 in stolen merchandise.

Dec 31, 2024 4:34 PM CST

Two security guards at a downtown Los Angeles shopping plaza were wounded in a gunfight with a man as they tried to stop him from making off with more than $1,000 of stolen merchandise, police said Tuesday. The guards confronted the man as he left a Target store at the FIGat7th outdoor shopping mall Monday night, the AP reports. The suspect fired at least five rounds and one of the guards fired as well, Los Angeles Police Capt. Raul Jovel said in a news conference. The man fled on a bicycle and police are still searching for him. Both guards were in stable condition Tuesday morning, LAPD offcer Drake Madison said

Jovel said one of the guards was a loss prevention officer for Target and the other an armed security officer for the mall. Judith Conway told KABC-TV she was in the Target store when shots rang out, sending shoppers running in the aisles and screaming and crying. "We heard several rounds go off, and we just pretty much ran towards the back and just left our items in the cart, and just tried to do the best that we could to get to safety," Conway said. "Some people were running towards the aisles, some people were hiding toward the clothes, everyone just started running and scattering in different directions."

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The LAPD released images of the suspect on Tuesday, The man, believed to be between 20 and 25 years old, is described as being 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing around 160 pounds, per KTLA. Police said the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous. (More Los Angeles stories.)