Two Inglewood police officers were injured Wednesday when a gun battle broke out at a home and then turned into a tense, hours-long standoff after the suspect barricaded himself inside the residence with two female hostages.
The dramatic incident unfolded in the normally quiet block of well-kept, single-family homes after the suspected gunman was seen trying to drag a screaming teenage girl by the hair, according to law enforcement authorities and witnesses.
When officers arrived, the shooter opened fire from inside the home and police fired back, authorities said.
A male officer was shot once in the chest but was "saved by his bullet-proof vest," said Lt. Oscar Mejia of the Inglewood Police Department. He was pulled out of the line of fire by other officers who had swarmed the scene in the 10700 block of Fifth Avenue.
A female officer was injured after she apparently fell from a wall while trying to aid the officer who was struck in the chest, Mejia said. She was treated at a hospital and released. The officer who was shot was being treated Wednesday night and was in good condition, police said. The injured officers have been with the department for at least 10 years.
Authorities late Wednesday had surrounded the home and were attempting to negotiate with the gunman. He was described as 45 years old and with a criminal history, said Lt. Dave Dolson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The hostages are the suspect's girlfriend and her daughter, according to authorities. The daughter, believed to be about 14, reportedly received a cut when the man tried to drag her by the hair.
As officers went door-to-door evacuating residents, crisis negotiators were talking with the gunman on a cellphone. He had made no specific demands, according to police.
Several neighbors said they were preparing for Thanksgiving when the commotion erupted.
One neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said she was cooking when she heard screaming about 12:30 p.m. The woman said she ran outside and saw a man dragging her 14-year-old neighbor into the house. The man, she said, is the boyfriend of the girl's mother.
Another neighbor, Kimberly Edwards, was on her way to the store to pick up supplies for Thursday's dinner when she saw several police officers and a man pleading with them to rescue his sister, who he said was being held captive in the house.
"I saw a panicked brother scream at the police officers: 'Please get my sister out of that house, please get my sister out of that house,'" Edwards said.
Shortly after, Edwards heard a barrage of gunfire. She said she saw a female officer stagger down the street and then collapse. Another officer came to her aid and carried her away, Edwards said.
An elderly woman who lives across the street was cooking a pie when a bullet whizzed through her front door.
"There were so many gunshots, oh my God, it was like you were in a war zone," she said.
Walter Maye said he heard about 15 gunshots. "I thought: God, what is going on," he said.
The 70-year-old Maye stood at Fifth Avenue and 104th Street on Wednesday night, watching his neighbors being escorted out of the area by officers.
"It's a shame," he said.
alicia.banks@latimes.com
ruben.vives@latimes.com
Times staff writers Ari Bloomekatz, Kate Linthicum and Robert J. Lopez contributed to this report.
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