Police shoot Los Feliz robbery suspect, search for accomplice
One suspect allegedly attacked an officer with a knife and police opened fire in the busy area, wounding the man. One round struck a passing bus, injuring a rider with broken glass.
Los Angeles police officers shot and wounded a robbery suspect today and are still searching for a second man in a busy area of Los Feliz, police said.
The shooting occurred about 1 p.m. near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and North Vermont Avenue, police said.
Officers on bike patrol spotted the two men as they were running away after allegedly robbing an electronics store, making off with cellphones and cash, police said.
After one of the men allegedly attacked the officers with a knife, one officer fired several rounds at the suspect, hitting him at least once, said Officer Jason Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department.
One round struck the window of a passing Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus and a female passenger was taken to a hospital for injuries from broken glass, Lee said.
The wounded man, whose name had not been released this afternoon, was taken to a hospital, Lee said.
Police set up a perimeter around the scene of the shooting and were still pursuing the second man this afternoon, Lee said. He was described as Latino, age 20 to 35, 150 pounds, 5 feet 5 to 5 feet 7 tall, and believed to be wearing blue jeans and a beige shirt.
It was unclear whether the fugitive was armed, he said.
Workers at a nearby Travelodge in the 1400 block of North Vermont Avenue said they heard shooting and rushed outside.
"We just heard four shots and apparently it all occurred right in front," said Andy Mehta, the hotel's assistant manager. Mehta saw people running away but said he did not see police shoot.
In the two years he has worked at the hotel, Mehta said, he has heard of several shootings in the area but "not in wide-open daylight like this."
"Nothing like this ever happened here," said Daniel Garcia, 35, manager of Eat N Joy restaurant at 1415 N. Vermont Ave., where he has worked for four years. Garcia said dozens of police officers were at the scene this afternoon.
"They're doing their job," he said. "They responded quickly. They were here -- helicopters, everything -- and they closed it down immediately. But I was surprised to hear the four shots because this area is heavily trafficked."
andrew.blankstein@latimes.com
molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com
