The alert that went out to avoid Washington Boulevard on Sunday morning, May 27 at 8:45 am was not called off until 4:30 pm, and the day was spent trying to diffuse a situation at the Rodeway Inn at Washington and Atlantic. Police officers surrounded the motel where a suspected shooter was barricaded in one of the rooms, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
A SWAT team entered the room after an hours-long standoff and found the suspected gunman dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said a preliminary investigation revealed.
Authorities received reports of a person who had been shot at around 6:09 a.m. in the area of Lincoln Boulevard and Flower Avenue in Venice, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez told KTLA.
Officers arrived at scene and found a victim who had been shot in the neck. The person was transported to a hospital and is in stable condition, LAPD Pacific Division Capt. Jim Setzer said.
Police were still searching the scene when they were told the shooter was at the Rodeway Inn motel in the area of Washington and Inglewood boulevards in Culver City, Lopez said.
As officers approached, they heard at least one shot fired, retreated and called for backup, according to Lopez.
When police made contact with the suspected gunman on the phone, he said that he had “no intention of going back to jail” and told officers he had a hostage and a bomb with him in the room, Setzer said.
Police said the suspected shooter was believed to be “contained in an active police perimeter” before the SWAT team entered the room at about 2:20 p.m.
When negotiations started to break down, “a decision was made to introduce gas into the location, and unfortunately, during that exchange… it would appear the individual inside committed suicide,” Setzer said.
A small revolver was found in the motel room but there was no explosive device or hostage, LAPD said.
The suspected shooter was a parolee with an extensive criminal record, including assault with a deadly weapon and drug charges, police told KTLA.
Police did not provide a description of the suspected shooter.
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