Man Shot After Taking a Hostage at Consulate
A man dressed in black and wearing bizarrely worded placards rushed into the Mexican Consulate near MacArthur Park on Tuesday morning, grabbing a pregnant woman as a hostage before a police officer shot him.
Witnesses said the man brandished what appeared to be a gun on the fourth floor of the consulate, shouting demands such as "Call 911; I want the media" to staffers. He then dragged a female clerk down the stairs, past terrified bystanders and out of the building just as LAPD officers were arriving.
TV footage showed the intruder with his arm around the woman's neck, jamming what police said they believed to be a weapon against her back.
About half a dozen officers surrounded the man, who wore a black balaclava and partly obscured signs, portions of which read, "I think
Witnesses said the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Manuel Ortiz Gonzalez of Canoga Park, shouted at the officers as he pulled the hostage backward away from police who crept toward him with weapons drawn. A source close to the investigation said Ortiz Gonzalez allegedly screamed: "Don't come any closer or I'll kill" the woman.
A police sergeant from the Rampart Division who was once assigned to a SWAT unit opened fire, striking Ortiz Gonzalez in the head. The suspect fell and the woman ran to the officers.
The incident prompted a citywide tactical alert as hundreds of officers descended on the Westlake district, blocking off traffic within four blocks of the consulate.
With the suspect in custody, SWAT officers swept through the building to make sure there were no accomplices. Police Chief William J. Bratton said he was confident the man acted alone but was unclear about his motive.
As with every officer-involved shooting, police officials said they would conduct criminal and administrative reviews of the incident. But LAPD Assistant Chief George Gascon praised the officers' performance.
"They had no real cover and had to expose themselves to confront him, putting their lives at risk," he said.
The LAPD manual states that police officers should fire only "when it reasonably appears necessary" to protect themselves or others from death or serious injury.
Officials said the gunman did not discharge the weapon. Detectives recovered a revolver but are trying to determine whether it was real or a replica. The suspect was taken to County-USC Medical Center and was listed in critical but stable condition.
