Sandy MaloneLos Angeles, CA – A police officer was shot in a grocery store in Granada Hills on Sunday night by a shirtless gun-wielding man who was screaming and yelling at customers and staff from atop a freezer (video below).
The incident occurred just before 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 inside the Ralph’s grocery store located near Balboa Boulevard and Devonshire Street, KCAL reported.
Witnesses captured cell phone video of the armed man screaming down at customers.
“He was on top of our coolers,” Chris Guerrero, a store employee, told KCAL. “From what I was told, he fell from the roof, so I’m guessing he went hiding in the roof and the ceiling collapsed on him and he just went straight down to the freezer.”
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers were called to the scene and witnesses said the man continued to get more and more agitated.
“They called for backup and some more police came in,” witness Peter Genovese said. “They started bringing in their riot gear and non-lethal weapons and I think that upset the guy even more. At some point, he jumped off [the freezer]…”
Police said that after the man jumped off the freezer, he ran to the back of the store and opened fire on the LAPD officers, KCAL reported.
One officer was shot.
Officers returned fire but the gunman wasn’t hit, KCAL reported.
He fled the grocery store and ran into a nearby convenience store where a standoff began that lasted about 30 minutes before officers were able to arrest him.
Helicopter footage of the arrest showed a large number of police vehicles blocking the store parking lot and then officers in SWAT gear approaching in formation to take him into custody.
#VIDEO: Man opens fire at police officers in #GranadaHills of Los Angeles, #California; one officer hospitalized in moderate condition.pic.twitter.com/MQTVcSxzKg
— Rahul Upadhyay (@rahulrajnews) November 2, 2020
The suspect was arrested and transported to a hospital for evaluation, KCAL reported.
Police said he wasn’t injured during the incident.
The wounded officer was shot in the hand and transported to the hospital for treatment, KCAL reported.
The officer sustained non-life threatening injuries, and is expected to make a full recovery.
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) November 2, 2020
He has since been released from the hospital and was expected to a make a full recovery.
Police were also investigating a report of an assault in the Ralph’s grocery store that may have been connected to the same suspect, KCAL reported.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below:
Holly Matkin
