Deputies in standoff with armed suspect after chase, shootout in Vernon | ABC7

build up here or Just in this shot here I mean look at the team that they have brought in to resolve this situation. An incredible view. In case you're tuning in, we have breaking news here at ABC 7. This is dramatic. Shooting at the end of a police

chase

in VernonWe called Sullivan along with Miellyn Leyva and we have been watching the end of this

chase

and we saw someone shoot out the passenger window and then several police officers opened fire. There you see the video on the right side of the screen windows that Right there, that car looks like a Toyota Prius, the shooting starts right there, right in the middle of the traffic, you see the other car pull away from that vehicle only to move away. of the road, but that passenger completely outside his window shoots at those officers, yeah. and it was truly a sight to see and that's why you see this huge volume of long horns that have descended around this car to see if we know that the woman, if you keep watching the video on the right side, that woman is the driver. .

The car gives up pretty quickly, but we don't know the condition of the passenger who was opening fire on law enforcement, I probably mean when you see the car you see it's riddled with bullet holes, there's a very good chance that that. person was obviously hit as well we just don't know the severity of her injuries she pushes so that's what we're talking about obviously Chris is talking to his photographer but he sees the woman she surrenders and this is what happened sir. I guess almost half an hour ago, 35 minutes ago, in this chase she quickly gave up and had to back away, so now she's left as a passenger in the car and they don't know her condition, if she was shot, if she's incapacitated or if she's frozen.

This is a

standoff

situation, they just have to be sure of the condition of that passenger and that's why we've been having a

standoff

and writing and that's why you see all the law enforcement out there with their guns pointed at that car and then the Bureau of Special Law Enforcement came on the scene and that's their I guess it's called Lynx, that Bearcat, a Bearcat and that thing is so highly fortified to resist bullets and we're looking at the car you can see, I want That is, riddled with bullets. hole that windshield looks completely the back windshield the side passenger the back seat passenger windshield so we know I mean there was a dramatic ending to this police chase and one that we don't normally see you like this yeah this is like something out of a law enforcement show, you know it's prime time, but they're okay, certainly, a second and a third reinforcement, yeah, well, we're back, oh yeah, we're seeing more reinforcements coming on the scene, we've got several The personnel now join forces here, we have a second Bearcat, a third Bearcat and the bomb squad.

The bomb squad may only be here as a precaution, but now they have also arrived on the scene. We were looking out the back window there for just a second. ago and I want to go back to something I said a little bit earlier in our coverage that it didn't look like there was anyone else in the back seat and that may in fact be the case, but I don't think we can confirm that yet. I don't think we have any clear confirmation as to whether there was anyone else inside that passenger. Certainly, under these circumstances, once those bullets went through the back windshield and basically went through the back seat, it's very difficult to tell. if anyone else may have been inside that vehicle, perhaps in the back seat, so we will wait for further confirmation on the total number of people there, as far as we can tell, although at this time we have a driver who has surrendered and a passenger in the seat of the front passenger who has been hit, that is, the passenger who at one point stuck his head out of the window in the middle of the chase towards the end before this car stopped and then pointed a very long revolver in the direction of the law enforcement officers, an open fire looked almost like a desert eagle, but by my estimation, nonetheless, it was a large revolver and just a dramatic dramatic scene here and, as can be seen with additional SCB units arriving to the scene here, this can be a situation like mentioned above, not only will they box him in and approach him from hood to hood, you know, head to head across the front of the vehicle, but they can also box him in from all angles just to be sure, there's another bomb squad. so we have bomb squad units and a drone that is not about to be sent to the vehicle.

We don't see this very often. We know Orange County has used it several times in recent memory. I haven't seen it. Los Angeles County. I know they've had one for several months, but they have several fleets of drones at their disposal, but now the Los Angeles County Sheriff, for the first time, I think I have to remember that he's now about to use a drone. maybe do an orbit around the car and pee in the passenger seat, well, because you know they save lives, they save canine units and being able to look out that window would be very helpful for these officers, yeah, well, come on. brings Bruce Thomas back to law enforcement expert Bruce, you know, we know you're a retired law enforcement officer.

It's amazing to have this resource of a drone, yes, a lot, so the drone is a new tool that law enforcement that uses the fire department has had. A little bit and some of the forest fires are guarded, the scene where the helicopters Ella can't enter, but in this case, the drone they can fly until it looks like a Toyota Prius looks in, has a real-time transmission in real time real. information for the officers at the command post that white vehicle that looks like some kind of caravan the bomb squads there is also a precautionary measure in case it is done by those who feel they need to clean the vehicle, it's like Chris was saying that several vehicles have In the end, they will have to lock in this vehicle from the front and from the back and then tactically they will have to formulate the plan that they are doing now and that they are training for and then approach the vehicle and they must not have received the keys from that driver when turned himself in, he's probably just panicking and getting out of that vehicle, yeah, you know, in this case it looks like a newer Prius, so there may not be any keys involved, it may just be a key fob of some kind and a power button pressed that's all a guess on my part but it looks like that could be the problem.

Good good point, yes. Wow, well, it's just amazing to see what's good. The amount of people there. The amount of law enforcement. there I don't think we've seen that much police presence at the San shooting yeah if you zoom in and scream you'll see there's a lot more than what you're seeing right now just getting into position I guess so well I I was sure my microphone was on and I was just going to say that, according to the traffic scanner, the driver is cooperating and providing valuable information to authorities. Also, we have another observation, a report from the ground that there is In fact, right now there is still movement coming from the passenger seat, so it sounds like the passenger is seriously injured, but he is still moving in the passenger seat. passenger as we speak, so yeah, and time is of the essence here, like I'm bleeding you.

I know it could, who knows what will happen, but the sooner this is over, the sooner they can get the

suspect

to the hospital if necessary or whatever they need to do, but the scariest thing is if they have a gun on it. car and there's a I mean and this person is not afraid to use it so I mean it's a very delicate and complicated situation trying to get this person out of the vehicle because it's not like the normal one where they open a door and just hand themselves over and we're talking about a possible murder

suspect

here this started in Downey and Bell Garden The police and the LA County Sheriff's Department started chasing these two people in this Prius and we saw the driver get out of the car with her hands on her back. high.

The passenger stays there, but we saw him stick half his body out the window and shoot at the officers, so he's someone who's not afraid to die and he's not afraid to shoot at the officers, so they have to be very careful. , Yes absolutely. All in all, you are absolutely right and Bruce Thomas, you are also on the phone with us again when you look at the number of steps that are taken to try to get this person out of the vehicle, what are you thinking? through all of these Law Enforcement Minds right now, well, there's a victim and an ER or a supervisor on the scene and they're requesting additional resources as needed.

It seems that the Sheriff of the city of Commerce, baby from East Los Angeles, has other outside agencies. Downey. but when STB rolls, it rolls with multiple vehicles, multiple tactical vehicles, so there's a big police footprint on this for obvious reasons because it's necessary, yes, absolutely, again, it's a very delicate situation and obviously all these police officers They know that their lives are at stake because this person has no problem taking out that weapon and using it, yes, the other thing is that time is on the horse on the sidewalk, there is no rush to get into this vehicle and the suspect is They will give you a safe. to do it, but period, they're probably going to launch the joint observation of what's going on and they're formulating a tactical plan and it looks like they're going to move the other Bearcat up now yeah, so they're going to box that car.

Maybe you'll get that drone and get a good look at the suspect and see. I think there were two more bear cases and here comes the robot to say, "They're taking everything out today and this is quite a spectacle, yeah, you know." It's good to have these types of assets and resources and when you have them you use them, they claim they are for these types of scenarios, so this is just a real life exercise. We are seeing the drone flashing the light, so they are about to use them. which I also hope they get their answers soon and also you know it's interesting that you know that after any kind of Bruce, obviously you can have your say on this one, but after any kind of incident, especially something as dramatic as this law enforcement, take this as a study and then they report on this and see what they did right, what could have been done better, I mean, this, they're really doing it, they're very methodical with how they get this person out. of the vehicle, yes, you are absolutely right, the tactical hot wash or a tactical report in which everyone gives their opinion and criticizes themselves and sometimes law enforcement and having been part of these briefings were tougher for ourselves than necessary, but we need to make sure we do it right, yes, exactly, because you never know when the next time will happen that you need to do exactly this right.

You see those two Bearcats, though there they are, you know, as we were talking about it, boxing in this Prius. I'm not sure if they'll go after him, but they're getting a good vantage point to see what happens if I suspect that he's actually so incapacitated that they can't move, you know, to get out of the car. How close? They're in that vehicle, yeah, they're right next to it, when you see the wind chill in the back, they go flying and I think the rear passenger window too, so they're making their move there, they're going to have a great close up, you can see Clemson, obviously, to see what the condition of that passenger is and I can't imagine it'll be much longer before they actually remove him just because of the proximity, at this point there's really nowhere for that vehicle to go . and they have assured that if there was any doubt about it, they are now fully convinced to lock him in with guns trained from all angles and now the officers, for the first time, can get a really very close look using those Bearcats that they could.

Look directly through your own bulletproof glass and make sure that passenger decides whether he is still a threat or not. They have brought a number of tools, a lot of technology to put an end to this wild chase and a

shootout

here in Vernon this afternoon again, this all started as a chase out of the town of Downey. Downey police chased a Prius with two murder suspects on board through the streets of Downey, ending here in Downey and Bandini, a female passenger who surrendered shortly after shots were fired, but it appears that there is still someone who has been seriously injured. wounded by gunshots inside the car and now it's just a matter of time and I can't imagine it will be much longer before they finally come to a conclusion, but what a dramatic scene, but you. look at this shot there look at this image look at the number of officers that have been brought in from several different jurisdictions predominantly the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office at this point the amount of resources note that the blast squad also the drone actually i I realized a minute ago that the side of that drone actually set the rescue on fire, so they may be borrowing this drone for this purpose.

Here it is, now it's about to take off andNow they'll fly that drone over that Toyota Prius here, I imagine. in just a few seconds too, so here is an incredible sight after a very dramatic afternoon, although I must reiterate that the best news is that no one else has been heard, no innocent civilians have been hurt, no officers have been hurt and we must give up. Once this is all over, they will be tremendous supports to law enforcement in what is nothing short of a terrifying situation. It is a miracle. In fact, there was her because they were in traffic when he was shooting out the window and then all those cars.

Surprisingly none. Some of the other civilians were in the crossfire but they are certainly getting a close look at that car from the front and the side, yes you see the law enforcement really pressing in. They are almost pressing their face against the glass just to get a look. idea of ​​what the suspect is doing, but to see them take that drone out and not take off, yeah, yeah, well Chris, we're listening to you, but yeah, it's amazing to see it all like that. First, I think Thomas, all the assets they have now are in that robot, they're bringing the drone, they're bringing these Bearcats, they're bringing a lot of their resources, Bruce, I think you're so What you're still with us, but I mean , it's amazing to see this, yes, Coleen and Ellen, what you're also seeing is the Bureau of Special Enforcement, they have Japanese paramedics, so what we're not seeing in the picture right now is Los Angeles County.

Fire Department and that is because the scene is so fluid and so dangerous that they are prepared behind their backs for the paramedics to give everything they can to the suspect even though he has been assaulted and high risk for them, that It's amazing work. what these officers do and watching this police presence and then the presence of officers it's just incredible to see it there and that the man in the turret there that you've been standing at attention for the last half hour seems that way and that's how it shows you that it's also like a family law enforcement, Bruce, because seeing you hear some people say you know not all jurisdictions work together, but when the going gets tough, everyone is there and they try to make sure that they've got their partners back, so to speak, uh, yeah, the other thing too is that the county Sheriff's only professional agent is the lead agency in training other tactical agencies, even like the FBI Secret Service, they've worked with them, so most of these others.

The smaller agencies have tactical teams but their bursts on training FVB

deputies

are interesting so are all SCBs also trained as paramedics or just some of them, some of them are cross trained and they have it only in case of situations. like this word Fire Department can't come in yes ma'am okay yes and it can't be a department as big as Seb or Special Law Enforcement Bureau I mean they are specialized so it's amazing see him. Everyone is ready to respond or do you think some of them might have had their day off and were called to respond?

You know it's a combination of both, there are several teams and I'm not going to go into numbers. for obvious reasons, but there are teams that are on call 24 hours a day and if something wanted the North Hollywood gang shooting years ago to happen, God forbid, I would call everyone from home, they are basically on call 24 hours a day , Yeah. It remains to be seen what he was going to say. Now we're learning that there are several detectives and officers involved in the investigation of a liquor store robbery just a few nights ago, a Tuesday night deal.

Remember the owner of a liquor store. store in Downey was shot and killed on Paramount Boulevard. There is no confirmation yet as to whether these are those suspects, but we are now told that those detectives are arriving at the scene under that suspicion and the possibility that this may very well be related to that homicide. and whether the suspect in that car may in fact match the description of the suspect that was caught on surveillance video just a few nights ago again, which was Tuesday night at the robbery and in Downey and now it looks like there may be some consideration as to whether there's a connection to that murder, so it's new information we're getting here from our cyber dust.

Well, it was very interesting to see. I know it was breaking news that hit the Eyewitness News room yesterday. I think that happened at the ASL liquor store, but I think the victim's name was repeated and I think he was 42 years old and you saw a video of what this little kid was right, a lot of people were really upset about this, it was really a murder. callous it seemed like the suspect just came in opened fire and left and he was a veteran a father and a lot of people really shocked by what had happened so you would know justice was served if this is the suspect when he gets taken into custody and really Good police work by the detectives, they could have linked him up and then started following him because it's been since Tuesday night, but we heard they were watching for murder suspects or possible murder suspects, so what makes sense, yeah , it really was.

It was sad to see, but again we are trying to see if we can get this person out of the vehicle. There appears to still be movement coming from the vehicle. They obviously have very good eyes on him at this point and some indication. that this is still a stalemate and that he is very much alive is the fact that the crisis negotiators have already arrived on the scene here there are additional crisis negotiators that we were sent in just in the last twenty minutes and now they have also arrived on the scene like this which, again, I think that lends credence to the possibility that it's very possible that he's still alive and breathing and this guy is going to be gone for a long time, so he's probably not in a big hurry if he really is, you know, in a confrontation situation that what we are talking about here is someone who is suspected of murder, someone who shot at the officers, has a gun in that car, yes, exactly a big gun in that car and has lost his driver , a partner and who knows what he's talking about. not exactly joking, I think Bruce said something, go ahead and also if there are seven HD, you can pull back a little bit and you'll see the officer's stance a little bit more.

I hate to use the word relaxed but not so fluid and dangerous situation because it seems like right now there is a more feminine cave, well, it will be a waiting game, yeah, at this point, as you get older, it seems like a good kind of phone, the crisis to see if the suspect can talk to him. It's so hard to do it, it's really seeing inside that vehicle, at one point you could see the suspect, do you remember seeing that?, you could see the suspect's face like it just looked like they were sleeping unless they turned to the side. and they will look out the window.

It's really hard to see inside there, although I hope there's no one in that back seat, hmm, because yeah, it wouldn't be a very good non-penetration, Kris, yeah, I certainly hope you know, for obvious reasons, one thing we can show you. To give you a comparison of the suspect that was hanging out the window shooting at the officers, we now have some videos and some freeze frames from the surveillance video of that homicide and Downey just a few nights ago we could show up there and you can write. I can't see any similarities between those two and obviously the size and description of the weapon used look very similar just from a quick look at these two shots here, so obviously law enforcement is looking at the same evidence and trying to discover again what the connection is. and if the evidence is building up or pointing in the direction of the possibility that this again could be the same suspect involved in the liquor store robberies, so I think it's very interesting when we look at it now that we've stopped on the side of the driver. that Prius the posture between those FCB units here hasn't really changed there you're still inside the vehicle there they're not making any moves and you have to wonder what they're seeing that's stopping them from taking their next steps they're obviously communicating with their commanders on post command and relaying information about what they're seeing or hearing on the scene down there and strategizing what the next move is going to be here, but when you look at the situation you have to imagine that they see something that is still very concerning when there was a threat coming from that suspect, whether they are moving or if they are just taking their time and taking every last precaution to be safe when they do. make their move that they are not in danger by doing so is that at some point they are going to have to open the passenger door or go around the driver's side and physically take out a live suspect or a dead suspect. one way or another he's going to have to get out of that exact vehicle and it's interesting to see that video from Tuesday night and we have a freeze frame of this particular suspect in the car with his head out the window and officers and you could order to see and then take the gun and the gun looks good, very similar to the gun when you see oh okay, what was that?

Let's get Bruce back here Bruce, what are you doing? I think they're playing some kind of distraction device to see if I can get the suspect to react in some way, maybe some kind of concussion grenade. They looked like this and he deployed a canine on the long blade and had the can. I went in there to deal with the Christmas thing. That weapon is probably a shotgun, maybe a Magnum revolver. of some sort, so if he fired, it may have been off target, but it looks like they're going to act like canines to get them into a resolved position.

Wow, look at that dog and I wouldn't want that dog to chase me, I know, but you know, and then it's okay, work mode right now, yeah, I'm Bruce, oh, just curious, because you know we have lovers of the animals that are looking, you know the suspect is

armed

, obviously, we saw it because they are a murder. We were as suspicious as possible and watched the video of what they are perhaps accused of doing and saw with our own eyes what the suspect did with the gun during the chase. It seems like you know that sending that good dog is just that.

I know that decision can't be taken too lightly, no, but you have to remember that the dog is the tool and, unfortunately, the second step here is that a trained peace officer, dogs also defend some type of evidence, protect That, yes, is not taken lightly. men law enforcement family yes we apologize for a little blind issue with the phone but we understand what you're saying we'll go with Kris and Kris there you see that canine on standby with that long leash what else? Yeah, I imagine, as Bruce was saying, that tear gas or whatever chemical was used in that situation as a distraction tactic just to see how the suspect reacts at this point, they want to see if it affects his movement, what does it do? ? it's your reflection, what your reaction is to that, try to provoke some movement and then the next step, once the dust settles, so to speak, we've seen them tie that k9 up in the last few minutes, we actually watched while that It happened, you can see.

It has to be a strap of about 40 feet, maybe 30 feet. Once they feel comfortable, they will let the dog approach the vehicle and that will be the next step and at some point the determination will be made as to the suspect. If he's alive or dead, that's the next step. I think so, because if you don't flinch when that dog comes at you, then you are incapacitated because exactly that is obvious, sometimes they use it here, yes, and they will deploy it. that and then they will immediately go in and take out a suspect whether he is in a structure or even in a car, but in this case they deployed him and now the situation is again static so now that would be the first step.

See what plan B is. I imagine here in the next few minutes it will be very interesting to see what happens when that dog approaches the vehicle and then maybe they can determine if he is going to be a suspect and they can just take him out. that car or if they're going to have to continue with this confrontation situation, yes, absolutely, and you can see that canine is very anxious. We saw it once that once that tear got tear gassed or the canister exploded, the dog got very animated and very eager to do it. what he's trained to do, you know, as Bruce mentioned, these are not pets by any means and, as you know, Colleen, the capabilities of that dog there are really something when you look at the training that those dogs go through and the things that do.

They are able to train them to do they are nothing short of impressive, yes, you are absolutely right, but I know, as someone who grew up with one as their dog, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is a member of our family too, but for sure They are willing to do it if they are so well trained and really want to work, they don't live to work and you can clearly see it. I think it's probably a Belgian Malinois, but they are absolutely trying to work and that's what they want to do, well let's try to come here and maybe climb up, but if we climb up and maybe look through the windshieldfront, John, that might be another angle to see if we can see more movement, any sign of movement at all coming from the passenger seat because from my point of view, I don't see any movement at all.

I think I see arms. I haven't seen the move, but it's a little difficult to say, obviously the distance we don't want to push. it's too close and obviously the little glare there also depends on the angle here, so obviously they have a much better view down there than we do, you can see it almost looks like you're trying to see, it's just more, I guess, the medium. It's those bullet holes in the front with the bullet holes in the front winch, I saw them before yeah, but it looks like some of those shots went through the rear windshield and ended up coming out the front windshield, those would be exit holes and that . front windshield, so it's just more evidence of a dramatic and violent scene that occurred here.

What maybe an hour or so ago has been an incredible sight. We have breaking news in Vernon. I'm Ellen Leyva along with David Ono. We've been watching this for about an hour or so a passenger opens fire on the police during a high speed chase and then the police responded by shooting the gunman and there were innocent drivers nearby but now we're seeing the conclusion of this and it's been that way for the last 45 minutes. It's incredibly shocking to see first the chase and then the shooting and gunfire. Continuing with innocent bystanders nearby, coming and going, we saw a person exit the vehicle.

A woman who seemed to be driving this car. She had blood. She may have been shot, but she surrendered right after the initial shooting. the other person the suspect the man seemed to be leaning out of the car with a large gun he's still inside that vehicle you're looking at things set up we have three bear molds from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office of Special Enforcement county that are established Up there, to the right of the car in question, one behind it, they brought a robot. We have seen the k9 units. We have also seen a drone set up.

It's an incredible scene as they try to figure out what the next approach is. will be when it comes to this murder suspect who is inside the vehicle he has clearly been hit clearly he is injured we don't even know if he is alive yet this is something we have been doing for quite some time chris Christie air 7 HD I'm also over it by see this shocking scene Chris, it's 4:00 o'clock, people are just tuning in, give us an idea of ​​what this experience has been like for you, as you mentioned David, nothing short of a dramatic response here from The Application of the law was a broad and well-justified response after a dramatic shooting this afternoon, a number of resources now available from different agencies, including the Downey Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Bell Gardens, all here and county sheriff's office SCB units now.

In the scene here with that Toyota Prius clearly locked in after the driver of that pursuit vehicle surrendered, shots were fired during this chase and it appears that the passenger is still in the passenger seat not moving from our point of view. seriously injured, we have seen a grenade fired to see if he reacts. We've seen k9 units waiting like you mentioned David and we saw it a few moments ago and now a bomb squad robot is approaching the car with a camera on. on board to take another look from a different angle, plus the two SCP bear-bear tanks that are literally right up against the passenger side and front hood of that Toyota Prius, so a lot of law enforcement and a lot of law enforcement skills. to the test here this afternoon, we can now tell you with a little more confidence without one hundred percent confirmation that they are looking very, very closely at the clear possibility and now the probability that this is directly related to the liquor store robbery What happened to David and Colleen.

Just a few nights ago, Tuesday night, at that ASL liquor store on Paramount Boulevard and Downing, where the owner was shot and killed, the description of that suspect and now the surveillance video that we were able to show you seems to pretty much match the suspect that is believed to be in that Toyota Prius, so the detectives from that case are on the scene down here and trying to connect those dots and confirm if this is really the same murder suspect from Tuesday night, not for a moment because We're looking at this robot guy. next to that car that murder is something that we have been on for the last few days it was shocking in itself because at the beginning we told you about the murder we showed you surveillance video on the first day of the murder we showed you Surveillance video that you just showed him to Chris of the gunman running from street level, there he is running, he's there for a few seconds, if you continue watching that video, there was a man who clearly came out of the convenience store.

I heard the shots and he ran out, he left, he got out safely, but the employee was killed, it took a matter of seconds and then the next day when we got the close-up surveillance video, we showed his face. There we showed the long gun and it reminded us all how fragile life is, how this guy just walked in there in a matter of seconds, took someone's life, it was absolutely shocking to witness and now it makes all the sense in the world when we see This chase going on. right at the Downey police behind him and we saw the shots fired outside that car and you can see this screenshot right there, but we also have one from today, him hanging outside the door, look at that gun, the barrel unusually long. and it seems that today he is using the same weapon, so it was a weapon.

It was most notable besides the fact that you could see his face as clear as day, but the most notable thing about this particular murder was the size of his gun and then I saw him leaning out the window with a huge gun and it's probably make it the same and hopefully we can show you that also a screenshot from a little bit earlier today because it just hung out the window, shot, shot. the officers and the disdain for everyone who was there there were people driving right next to him. Soon we will have much more to talk about.

Let's go to Mary Menendez, who was on the ground near where all this is happening. Miriam, that's it. It's a very chaotic scene, but from where we're just south of where all the armored vehicles and police cars are gathered, we can see a clear view of that Prius, we can see the front door open, and my cameraman Chester Finney says he can see. the robot, so it's a little far away, but we can monitor what's happening and what's not happening there. I haven't seen any movement inside, but as you reported from the air, there have been reports that the gunman has been moving, several cars have been surrounding this area and we have seen emergency vehicles coming and going for a while.

At the time, it seemed that several officers were retreating away from the scene, we don't know. We still don't know what his next step will be. We were here when that very loud percussion grenade, that flash grenade, was fired to distract the gunman and possibly divert the gentleman's attention. Another maneuver was carried out. We are in a very, very isolated part of Vernon Paul Industrial. You know, we are close to the train tracks and several warehouses. It's a very fortunate situation for the SWAT4 course. People trying to take down this

armed

individual means there are no civilians in the area that could possibly be attacked. wounded, so we're just waiting and watching, we see all the lights of all the police cars, we're watching that car very closely, of course you know the gunman has already shown that there is a reckless disregard for life by shooting from that car repeatedly. and they are probably talking to the passenger who surrendered to find out if there is any way to persuade the gunman to surrender and they don't know the gunman's conviction, although they don't know what is happening if he was hit because there was an exchange of gunfire with the officers of police that were chasing him and of course the reason it started was because the officers that took him down believed that this person was on the run and that this person was a murder suspect, so there are still a lot of details to fill in as we watch and wait here in the city of Bern, that's it from the ground right now, back to you, okay Miriam, thank you, another great question to answer, the woman who was driving this vehicle today, who was clearly the one who was handed over, is in custody, it looked like she was hit, but we don't know for sure if she had blood on it, but it could be the guy in the passenger seat that bled on her, however, the question remains if she was part of that murder that was in the video because, according to some witness accounts, the gunman could have been left by someone waiting in a vehicle he jumped from the murder took place he jumped back into the car and left she was the driver and perhaps that could have been part of the motivation for her to continue running from the police too, could she have been part of that murder?

We understand that she is now cooperating with the officers after she surrendered, so that remains to be seen, but now we see that robot again getting shot again. on that sidewalk and as we've been talking, part of the conversation is that he's been seen moving from time to time, so there is concern that he could still be dangerous and that's why the long delay that Bruce Thomas is on the line with us also with our law enforcement expert Bruce, you've been watching all of this, you've seen the video of that murder that took place earlier this week, all of this has been so shocking and it's come to this shocking culmination here.

What are your thoughts as you see how this all comes together? Well, you know, the first thing that Chris Christie prepared is that it looks like with almost 100% probability this is the suspect involved in that murder, the gun is too similar and it's a gun that you don't see very often, the part tragic thing is that it was a robbery that didn't have to be a murder by this suspect, but what you're seeing now is that they're using the robot to get a better idea of ​​what's going on in that vehicle and ultimately, the FCB will have to get closer, they will have to drag this suspect and provide him with help, it seems that there is no other way to get them out, since they are right, we want to return him. image that we had to see side by side, if you can, we will show the gunmen from the other night on Tuesday and then the one from earlier today and there you see from the passenger side that gun with a very similar barrel sticking out and then on the right side, that's from the surveillance camera inside the store where the murder took place, so they're both silver, very shiny, with a very long barrel, and like Bruce just said, it's A unique weapon that you don't see very often and look. how close that shooting happened with just people driving on the road, yeah, I wanted to talk to Bruce about that because when you watch the video, this is a very dangerous situation that law enforcement gets tangled up in and you can tell that we're dealing to adjust where they are shooting from because they are innocent bystanders right in front of this vehicle and also to the right and you see Bruce adjust to the right side of the passenger side of his vehicle to change. the projection of the angle of their shots, yes this is probably one of the worst scenarios for a law enforcement officer because you have a background, we take into account what we are shooting at, in this case they are shooting at a vehicle, but there are innocent civilians in that shooting range, it looks like there was a truck in front so hopefully the bullets weren't going anywhere but it's a dangerous and bad situation but the officer in this case has to return fire for his own safety , Yeah.

What a terrifying situation and fortunately, from what we understand, no one else was hurt or hit in that situation, but what a terrible situation if you are a law enforcement officer, not only are you in a very stressful situation, someone is shooting. You have to think about returning fire, but you have to do it safely before anyone else does. It's a mind-boggling responsibility, especially if you know you were dealing with this suspect who may be some guy. of a professional hitman, I mean, that's what it almost sounds like and that could be a possibility. Here it was a coup because she just ran in, killed the guy and left and the car right behind the shooter managed to take off he or She somehow managed to get away from the shooting incident but can you imagine you know she got stuck right behind of the shooter and in the video you will see that this car?

I guess that's the reality in Los Angeles, yeah, we look. In that image, okay, we're talking now, what you're seeing on the right side of your screen is the live shot, there's a robot inspecting what's happening inside that Prius right now, on the left side, there's a split screen there. You see the gunmanearlier this week inside a convenience store. You see he is holding a very long gun and then you see a similar gun sticking out of the Prius. This is where the shooting occurred. You see the white van. We're talking about him sitting in front of the vehicle and he was there when the shooting broke out, this vehicle behind him, that's a civilian vehicle, that's one you're talking about, right behind Zappala, they didn't have the means to Go backwards. and get out of the way, boy, exactly what situation was everyone in, the officer who was involved in that shooting, you could see how this package that was a mirror of his training, got into the door jamb upstairs, provided him cover and once he fired enough rounds into that vehicle to maintain some sort of safety feature for himself, he returned to the rear of the vehicle for additional cover.

That shows how well versed and trained we are as law enforcement officers. He was calm and collected. We'll eventually see the video again, but it was interesting to watch because he returned fire and stayed exactly where he was supposed to and then went to the back of the vehicle, reloaded and tactically took different approaches with his partner and Here we go, here we go, You will see this car right behind the shooter. Okay, there's a civilian car on the left. Here is the officer. He gets out of his car. He stands in the door frame and begins shooting at the vehicle.

Luckily, the civilian car. he gets out of the way. Wow, he's going to the back of your car, right, oh, he's going to the passenger side. He excuse me, yes, a different approach is needed. A different angle. He's recharging right now as we speak, he has a motor officer, then move, help him, he has his back to him in his vehicle, he goes back and forth looking for a better angle, what a stressful situation, luckily there is reinforcements there to help him, but He was there. himself for a few seconds seconds that could be deadly and there you see the back window, a windshield, is it right now?

I think they have been shooting into it and then it will break eventually there you see her hands there they are now coming out of the vehicle the driver was the woman that she is giving up on she has her hands outside the vehicle and she will eventually get out of the vehicle . It seems like she was injured but not incapacitated, so she wants out and we don't know what she is. When this stopped, we never saw anything more of him. He was sitting in the passenger side window and there you see that shot holding the gun out the window.

There is a lot of situation to be in. I send it everywhere. but no one was hurt and we still see that the robot is looking inside that car getting more information and then the Bearcats in the same position, that car is not going anywhere. I don't know if we're still seeing any movement, but yes. You have to be careful and hopefully the robot will be able to give you a clearer image of his face. Who is he? The robot has been there for quite some time. Maybe he's just watching and staying. Maybe they'll keep it there so they can do it remotely.

Look at him, he doesn't have any movement while they're trying to figure out what to do, yes, but they're handling this with caution and we're in a mode right now where some decisions have to be made. how to move forward the situation does not like it seems that it is moving now we have this opportunity for you we are not going to push any further we can of course but we don't want you to see something you shouldn't but we are also watching from our monitors inside the studio, we could see a closer shot, we could see his arm, we see his head turn to the right, he is clearly not moving at least at this moment, but there is concern that there may still be a threat and we saw that a drone was used, We're not sure if they're actually going to take it to the car, maybe they'll have a clear enough picture with that robotic camera, but they took everything out, including the drone, we saw three Bearcats watching. overall, look at all those officers Bruce, you're still with us, you have something to add, yeah, I was going to say that if you look at the back of the third Bearcat, the one not involved in boxing, you'll see the officers.

With white gloves, possibly our paramedics will cross the train, but they also have a ballistic shield, so when they approach, that ballistic shield will provide cover for the officers because they will have to approach this vehicle at some point and we have seen that. in the past where their job wasn't just to capture the suspect or eliminate the threat, but they had to provide help as quickly as possible and we've seen that time and time again, so they have two different modes. to take care of that and the people who are going to cause help bruises are members of the SWAT team or they are paramedics who come in with the SWAT team, they can be paramedic assistants with cross training from the FCB or they can be trained tactical paramedics Station officers commerce is also likely a combination of both, they may not have been on duty, but they call us after the fact, okay, and we know officers and paramedics are trained these days because of actors shooting. active shooters in the United States since Columbine, when they changed tactics in the old days, the paramedics were behind until the scene was considered clear, but you can't do that anymore, so everyone is trained to provide aid immediately and get in . even though there is still an ongoing threat, you see the Vernon Fire Department and the paramedics, they are very much off the scene, but they are positioned on the scene prepared and ready to go when needed, so you see that it is a Little exaggeration, but they we can get there in a matter of seconds when necessary and fortunately this is an industrial zone with such minimal collateral damage that it could have been possible, but fortunately there was no traffic there except for the few civilians who were parked right next to the shooting and you really feel for them, but it was very smart to think of that car to get away from the shooting, no, you know that and calm, yes, and you never know how you are going to react to situations, but congratulations to all other civilians. who were involved in that situation as well to not panic and just do the best you can to handle that situation and our Chris Christie has been on top of this dose of light and so on at three o'clock or before three o'clock.

Yes, Ellen, it's been a great afternoon and a long standoff here in Vernon again, we're watching and noting that that robot that approached the vehicle maybe about 20 minutes ago in the last 15 to 20 minutes and when it approached the vehicle, we really still did it. I don't see any movement coming from the passenger seat other than some very subtle movement and I'm wondering if this is what you're seeing down there also some very subtle movement in the suspect's right hand and that could be an optical illusion from our vantage point. They certainly have better eyes than us, that robot is certainly capable of handing over a cell phone, but there was no indication that it had dropped a cell phone or that it missed anything like that, so at this point the camera on board that robot . is watching the passenger seat as are his officers in those two Bearcat units at one point about three or four minutes ago one of the Bearcat drivers at the top of the screen, the one on the right actually left the driver's seat and he came back I went to the back of the vehicle to retrieve something and now he is back in the front seat.

I'd like to know what Bruce thinks he may be going through at this point. Now we have seen a grenade fired. We have seen canines. position, obviously that drone hasn't been used yet, the robot maintains a pretty close proximity here with the camera focused directly on the passenger seat and then that third crew is now hoping to approach the prius with shields and long guns as well, so I I ask At this point, what else do you need at this point to get in there, whether it's the passenger side or the driver's side, and make your move, what would be happening?

And those Bearcats right now, would you like to address that? Oh, Bruce, Bruce, would you mind answering Chris's question? ask or can you hear me Bruce we may have wasted more time please here we go Bruce we're just wondering what do you need what else do you need now at this point what are you looking for to make the decision to finally go Come in and get to the suspicious. What they're looking for is to see if the suspect is incapacitated to the point where he can't reach the gun he had. I think like Christie said, he is incapacitated and can't do any of the verbal actions.

Commandos asking them to do it, at this point they're just saying, okay, how are we going to do this tactically, how are we going to approach the vehicle and what way are we going to get the suspect out. We have them locked in on the passenger side, so they'll have to get in on the driver's side or move one of the Bearcats to get to him and get him out of the vehicle, but there's also a loaded gun in that vehicle. Be careful because we've seen that gun maybe twice this week when you're not exactly sure but I was speculating.

Wow, this is yes. The turnout there is a great story that has been going on for a few days here in Southern California and culminated in this incredible chase. a violent ending with a shooting and yes, this suspect, even though he was watching the surveillance video at the convenience store, scared everyone, yes, because it seemed like he had only one intention and that was to run as fast as possible, kill someone and leave. He didn't steal anything, he just walked in there with the sole intention of shooting the employee behind the desk and then getting out of there as quickly as possible and that unique weapon that you don't see very often using that very unique weapon, so the robot is on the move. again, now they're moving it back a little bit, so let's see what happens next and we can check in with Miriam Hernandez while we watch this live image.

Miriam, yes, we are also looking at that robot. We can see an arm swinging down, it's swinging. You can see it here just to the left of your screen, near the left front wheel of that Prius, so it's positioning itself for some reason and we'll have to keep an eye on it to see what. What happens next is when officers read the position of that person with a gun inside. We also haven't seen any movement inside the car and to respond to David's comment about providing help, we have an ambulance right next to our truck here. 25 feet away waiting to get in if there's any gunshots, but I've noticed several police officers have made their way to the back of this phalanx of police vehicles, they're open, another flashbang is heard, yeah, they just got high.

Miriam shot a flashbang right at the back of the vehicle, clearly that's why they moved the robot a little further away, setting up another flashbang, we'll bring in Bruce Thomas now so he knows what he thinks about this, maybe trying to see if there's any startle or movement on the part of the suspect sitting in that and that passenger seat Bruce, what do you think? Yeah, that's exactly where this is a stretch and all the devices to see it didn't get any movement, another thing you may be waiting with. In these officer-involved shootings, an airbag may have deployed and that will make it difficult to reach the suspect in that vehicle.

Okay, yes, I thought I saw it move very loosely. Yes, we see that the robot now appears to be looking inside that car. now i'm getting a closer look at the individual inside now he's moving slightly back these officers have all the time in the world to examine this car as long as they can stay out of the line of fire and make sure no one else gets hurt no there's no reason for everyone to rush in and try to take this person down so they're using their time gathering intelligence gathering as much information as possible before they move, but I can see one, two, three, four feet, well you can see them from the air too.

The different cars that are waiting on our side, we have emergency vehicles waiting to come in if necessary, but right now everything seems very still waiting and watching to see what information comes through that robot and if the suspect shows any signs. of life if of course we know that if there is any strength in a desperate person with a gun, he can use his last ounce of energy to shoot, that is why when officers take down a suspect they are going to restrain him. I want to make sure that person can't fire another shot and hit an innocent person or law enforcement officer, so it's extremely important to make sure that person doesn't move at all and can't retrieve the gun and shoot.

Again, go ahead, I was just imagining that that robot camera should be able to tell if the man moved even an inch or flinched. They could compare images and you know, if that burned hand, if they call them that to make them shudder. yes, thank you, you will be able to see if they also have a $2.00 movement, they also have eyes on them, they have men, they are individuals inboth Bearcats that are sitting there watching the suspect, there may be some things in the way and as Bruce pointed out there may also be some situations with the airbags because of the bullets that went through.

It's good to activate the airbags, which might make that a little more difficult, but I'm sure they're watching from whatever vantage point they can, so we've got someone and the Bearcat on the front of the side and then the robot as well, so that when they activate that flashbang everyone is probably watching as best they can to see if there is any kind of flinch on the suspect's part and that must have been the white movement, the paper that we thought was paper at that moment, must have been the air bag, but you know Miriam is making a good point and that is that they have all the time in the world, all it takes is one bullet if you just have to pull the trigger right and one more bullet and that is a great gun. size, it might be able to penetrate further than a normal gun, so they need to be aware of that as well, which is why they are being extremely cautious here, but for good reason because if this is the person they think is the one who killed before, okay Bruce, now the camera is looking at the back seat, it looks like that car and look at it, what are your thoughts?

You know they're just trying to get picture points, see what it is. on my screen it said there is no rush to solve the problem, time is on the authorities' side and I know people get very frustrated, but we do everything by the numbers, so here we are, we are approaching 4:30 the afternoon, this is a The chase that started around 3 o'clock and that's what we launched into and it was an incredible chase that started in Downey and this passenger was driving, the passenger had the gun, the driver finally gave up, but several police officers were opening fire.

In Downey, then the Bell Garden police came in and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department came in and it's a possible murder suspect, obviously, and a very dangerous man, but we saw a woman get out of the vehicle, the driver and turn herself in, and now there's only the passenger in that one. car right now, yeah, some really dramatic moments, not just when I was with the chase. It was pretty dramatic, but when the passenger started hanging out the window with his giant gun, it was surreal, it was incredible, you don't see that very often during the chase, the shots fired at the officers had to return fire to the Downey Police Department.

They started stopping him because they felt this could be the suspect in that high profile murder that took place at a convenience store where the suspect was seen on surveillance camera running towards the convenience store within seconds he shot the clerk. he got down and ran off and it took him off camera when he runs into the green mist or if they dropped him off or if someone was waiting for him in a car, but there is speculation that someone might have been waiting for him and he just jumped to the right. We don't know yet but there is a distinct possibility that that was the case so this is what we are dealing with with the suspect now in the passenger seat who has been still for quite some time after a burst of gunfire came in in this one he freed us, the woman got out, she was able to get out of the Prius after the shooting and surrender, the robot is moving again, but the suspect has not moved.

That camera pulls back, maybe they'll do another flash, who knows what they'll do next, but I have, yeah, I think they'll try to put it on the sidewalk because you notice it extends, pick it up, so I think they'll try to turn it around and put it on the sidewalk to see it. better from the previous angle I had right next to the open driver's door. I think they will try to align it and see it more to the side. That's it, yeah, fortunately, all of this is happening in Vernon, where there is little traffic and only one industrial area, so fortunately that is in their favor, so there you see the SCB Special Enforcement Office that is with the Sheriff's Department. it's set up on the third Bearcat on the right side, they're ready to go to the wedding to get the word and when to come in and that's when you'll probably see them move forward and check out the suspect there.

The individuals in the other two Bearcats are also looking directly at the vehicle and watching them carefully to see if there is any movement in the flash grenades that we have heard one fired recently, a few minutes ago, a couple of minutes ago, we don't. I know what the results of that were, if there was any movement on the part of the suspect who is in the passenger side seat in the front and the k-9 units are also ready to go and they already had the drone and also the robot and We Maybe, maybe, yes, there we are going to show you the moment when the shooting began.

You said the officer jumped out of his car right behind his door and you see the civilian car backing up and those shots were fired from that Prius. The gunshots come from the police officer firing at the Prius and you realize that he is directing his shots at the passenger side. There you see the driver trying to give up, but there are still shots coming into the vehicle, but they can't see the driver's side. I can't see his hands sticking out of a vehicle, so he's back and he's probably getting out because the shots are coming from both sides of the car now and these officers are on the right side of this patrol unit taking an angle that Sanders doesn't. will hit because if they stay directly behind the car, it could go straight into the truck that was in front of the Prius.

Now his hands are out, he's giving up. You don't notice any movement on the passenger side, but you do notice it on the driver's side. They are upstairs, she is a woman who was driving the vehicle trying to escape from the police. She finally got out of the car, she got out of it and she was able to get out of it on her own and they stopped her. It had blood on it. his arm, his legs, his feet, we don't know if he was actually shot or if it's from the suspicious passenger, so we don't know exactly what condition he's in, but he seemed to be walking fine, so since then, obviously, civilians have come out of The way we've moved the Bearcats, three Brit Bearcats have arrived on the scene from the Special Law Enforcement Office with the Sheriff's Department, two of them have gathered around the car and one is sitting on the back. back there as a stage and prepares to move. about the suspect and those Bearcats have been there for about 40 minutes surrounding that car and there is a third one that you can see on the right side of the screen ready to come in and the robot camera seems to be further away now. maybe he has done his job and we will soon hear the condition of the suspect, yes David what I was going to assume was that what you have seen is there and all the regular personnel as we will call them out of the operations area and everyone has been placed by the tact of the fvb deputy at this point highly trained highly capable these guys are very skilled I actually did a whole SWAT academy with them boy it was a while ago I bet it was eye opening.

I couldn't, I couldn't survive. that today, but that was when I was a little younger and I tell you it was brutal, these guys are ours, they are incredible, they train hard, it is highly competitive to enter the unit and they usually train and improve and better and have tactics which are pretty scary, to be honest, you don't want these guys to come and find you, you don't stand much of a chance against them and they are very proud of this unit and are considered one. one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world, in fact, in the Academy that I took with the SCB there were people who came from France from Italy, there were Navy SEALs in that Academy, which shows the respect that this group has when it's about how prepared they are, how good they are, because I mean, the Navy SEALs are coming to the Sheriff's Department for special tactical training, interesting, well, yeah, these guys that you're seeing that are here, yeah, they're very capable and if they show up and you're a bad guy, that's the last thing you want to see, it looks like that robot is gone and well, it's just standing there, yeah, it's kind of staged a little further, I wonder yes it will be.

It's good, you know, because it has a camera that can be pushed in, so maybe it has a better angle there, we say K9 he was on hold or she was on hold and that's down for now, you see. McCain k9 is right there. Okay, sure, you see the guy moving. Okay, that's the long blade he's holding. Yes, he is holding that long leash. Yes, that strap over there is the canine strap. Okay, so they're primed and ready to go. Also all these guys and there. some blue gloves that Bill Thomas was talking about, these guys are prepared to administer aid when they get there when they are given the green light to go in, but they are also capable of being tactical officers and there is a king who brings that and stands out.

There yeah, David, I think we're going to see a move right now, it seems like they've formulated this, they're very sure that we're the ones that are incapacitated and they're teaming up to go in, yeah, he's just holding the shot, we're going to see. that quickly, yeah, okay, it looks like the physicality has changed a little bit, the k-9 unit seems to be out there, a little isolated, they seem to be ready to go, you'll notice the group of officers here. Wow, yeah, it looked like Bruce was about to come in because he saw the other officers stand back and let these special units do their thing.

I wonder if they're going to get the stack from him and I could also go maybe using the bear as cover, but let's see what happens. Don't know. It almost seems here that the canine could be first aid, but we don't know that yet. It's just speculation, yes. I think they'll deploy the canine first if they get a reaction. Possibly you know, Malum O's are such strong dogs that they can probably get the suspect out of the and then please, we'll be there to pick him up. either she in custody or Thunder eight, okay you're right, they'll use that Bearcat as cover, yeah, the Bearcats are moving forward slowly, the guys are behind using it as cover, taking a lot of caution to account for the Bearcats.

In the front there are people looking directly at the car in case something happens, so there is direct communication between these guys in the front Bearcats and the guys, the Bearcats in the back, and they will slowly move up, the canine is ready to attack, that man on the roof. there you see him ready also in the turret he is covered ready to go he will have a good point of view there the dog ku really leaves now he is ready to go there we go they let him go let him look good, get out of the way yourself, although we are fine, he is pulling of the suspect, the suspect is not moving, they are strong, they are very, very strong, look at that very strong dog, okay, he is pulling on the suspect, we, we may have to take the shot, just for one case, yeah we do.

We're not doing it because you know we want to frustrate you, we just don't want you to see something you shouldn't see, so we're going to be very careful with the shot right now, the dog is inside the cabin of the car. When pulling the suspect, you could see the movement of the suspect and the dog pulling the suspect, but so far there is no retaliation from the suspect, which is a sign that the suspect may very well be incapacitated or even dead and he's approaching his on the passenger side there right now with the shield facing in the dogs took out the long leash he did his job his job is done and now they're taking out the suspect okay hmm clearly the suspect is not a threat him me Okay, be careful, we may not even be alive, but the suspect is already out.

Okay, let's zoom out a little bit, so now the suspect is behind Trias, he's in front of the rear bear cut and then and this. It is the point where they will begin to administer aid. You notice that some of the officers or

deputies

are looking inside the car. They have checked the car. There is no one else in it. Now is the time to deliver help. Probably pick up the ambulance. Bruce, what? Did you think we were using the dog distraction area device by the officers approaching the other side but you also wanted the suspect to have a reaction in this case?

I don't think he had a reaction. I think the K-9 was pulling on his arm and possibly biting him and there was no reaction and when the officers approached and entered the cabin of the vehicle, you know, I hate to say it, but I think the suspect could be dead, yes, and he is good. This is interesting, Bruce, you notice that the officers and agents are standing around the suspect. They don't have to do that, but is this intentionally out of respect, so the cameras aren't focused on them now just to keep them a little covered? a little to a point, but you also have to remember that it's an active crime scene, so this area processes mm-hmm, okay, it's interesting how they use the dog as a distraction and that probably again serves the right purpose and won't bother you.

You realized while we were watching that. dog does his thing, they were coming from the other side of the vehicle and Wow, okay, so thesuspect is on the ground, that's where that group of officers, deputies are gathered around the suspect right now, they're administering aid, I imagine at this point. maybe they'll bring the ambulance but I'm not sure because if he's dead and there's nothing they can do then they'll probably drive him literally shot and bled and that was quite a while to be in That car is fine so yeah , they're going to build a hot fire higher up in the operational area now and provide help sooner, so there are a lot of questions left to answer: Who is this guy?

Seen in that convenience store with a giant gun that killed the clerk inside the store. The one we saw come running in and out quickly. Look on the right side at the suspect on the far right he was from a convenience store earlier this week. where he shot and killed someone and then the middle shot is a photo of him holding the gun in this particular chase and the whole thought was that the Downey police were trying to stop this Prius because they felt that the suspect inside this car It was the same. The person you see on the far right looks like it's the same gun, yes it's pretty clear so the suspect may have passed away, however he is out of the vehicle, he is on the ground and they are administering aid in this part of this quest is coming to an end and it's okay now, so we want you to watch this closely.

That's the suspect. He runs to the convenience store. He runs inside. That's from the camera within the community. So he there he just walks casually. He pulled out the gun and started shooting, he didn't steal anything, he just ran, shot the clerk and ran away, literally that was his intention and a witness said maybe they dropped him off and picked him up mm-hmm and that could have been the driver from today. Yes, speculation and whether or not that person who was driving the vehicle is the same person who could be involved in the other crime, we just don't know, that's one of the many questions.

Miraculously, although fortunately no officers were injured and so were the civilians who were so close to that shooting right during the chase directly behind the shooter was that it was a civilian car that actually had the means in that moment of panic to back away the afternoon I spent a violent afternoon here in southern California this all happened in Vernon when it started in Downey with a hail of gunshots and I think it's almostThe notable thing is that the driver of this vehicle was able to surrender and get out and I'm not shooting as I see all the bullets flying through that car, she survived and got out, she was bloody, but it looks like none of her vitals were hit, unbelievable.

So, you know, we'll go over some of the details of this and, of course, there are a lot of questions left to be answered as far as what happens from here with this investigation, who these people are and whether this is the person involved in that. convenience store hit what was the basis behind it what was the motivation why he did it was that someone else and Bruce Thomas paid him to do it any final thoughts on this situation you already know, now with Tennessee our hours and hours of investigation have multiple four people involved in the initial incident from different agencies, ultimately what they saw with the professionalism, the training of police officers and sheriff's deputies and what we expect from our staff mm-hmm first, thank you very much for help us honor coverage once again. you've been invaluable and then Miriam Hernandez you're standing on the ground near what's happening where you are yes yes it's clear now from what we had been observing for the previous hour now there are several deputy officers grouped around the car while you I can see and we're waiting hear more news about the suspect's condition.

My apologies in advance, you have been talking and giving everyone updates as you have seen them from this vantage point, we cannot see what you have seen and because of all the helicopter noise here, it has been difficult to hear everything you have seen with great caution. Vernon PD expanded the crime scene so we had to get in our truck and back up to be further away from where this is. The incident was taking place at the location where the confrontation was taking place so you have to be very cautious when the bullets fly they continue until something stops them and you know the bullets can travel a long distance so I'm not sure whether we were worried about the gunman. inside the car or maybe even the officer shooting if necessary, but they turned us back and told us the crime scene is now here on Vernon Avenue, we are just south of where the car stopped, we are waiting to receive a report now from whatever agency, I guess, the Sheriff's Department, to tell us exactly what happened there in those final moments, the waiting game, the standoff that went on for quite some time, there were new movements that they had been observing and monitoring with that robot.

We saw the The robot came in getting a very close shot of any movement that might have continued in the car after a while while the car had been stopped and then of course the two banks of flash to see if the passenger that the gunman I would rather react to that. loud noise that would be a clue as to whether that person was still conscious or not, if that person had suffered any gunshot wounds in the fight between the officers chasing him and the gunman, we do not know his condition yet, we are waiting to hear from people who have had a close up view and have been informed, we now see an ambulance approaching the scene, you will see it appear in the shot in a few moments, we do not know if this is the ambulance will it deal with any possible injuries to the suspect or transport him, but we see both ambulance paramedics and a City of Vernon fire truck moving toward the scene again, those officers are on the scene from the vehicle that is just standing still.

There right now we see the paramedics approaching, they are there, they are on the corner of what is Fruitland Street and they are just waiting to see what happens next, yes, so David Miller, we are observing, we are observing what you are seeing and are okay now we see the ambulance coming into our image and you can probably see it you know from the air seven much more clearly we will see if they have an injured person that they will transport or if in fact this the person has to get to their wounds, David, yes, a good day and seeing the culmination at the end with the k9 coming in to distract the suspect to see if he flinches and the special agents coming from the other side was It's quite a sight to see it's been a dramatic afternoon here in Southern California because to the terrible violence that so many civilians and police officers, as well as officers, found themselves in when it came to this very violent suspect. so coldly killed someone earlier this week if in fact it is the same suspect by the way he hung out the passenger side window just blatantly shooting at the officers so they had no choice but to return fire and this is the culmination of all this violence it seems that the suspect is clearly down we do not know if the person is alive the woman driving the vehicle is detained she seemed to be injured but she is alive we do not know we do not believe that anyone else was injured in all this, but he was certainly close in many ways as we watch these paramedics and we'll have to see if there's any urgency there or what's going to happen.

Our producers think they have detected an intravenous line. They have now connected and are closing in on the suspect, so they are doing everything they can to keep him alive. Yes, you see the SWAT officer holding the IV. He's standing, oh yeah, okay, that's from above the officer's back. the Bearcat, the Bearcat further away, he's the one that's coming in right now, yeah, he's got an IV in his hand, so they're giving him help, he's alive and they're doing what they can, we don't want to show you that too. It's very clear there's red down there mm-hmm the suspect is bleeding but they're rendering aid and he may have a pulse so they're doing everything they can to keep him alive and you see those special blue gloves and they're trained. uh the paramedics too, so some of them are specially trained, so apparently they'll put him on a board while they're holding this IV, they'll transport the suspect as best they can.

These Terminix seem to be working with some urgency. now moving around the suspect tying up the SDB members are also there helping so here goes let's be careful. Here you see him without a shirt, he also has a bandage around his head, maybe he has a head injury that caused a wound. the shooting there is something red there they are about to transfer him to the ambulance but he is on the stretcher right now tying him to the stretcher boy is that blood on the floor I can't tell what it is something clearly he has been hit and seriously injured but he is alive at the moment Except for that shot we know that the suspect is alive they are giving him oxygen an IV is wrapped they cut his pants they also took off his shirt they are doing what they can at this site and then Vernon Fire will transport him to the hospital.

Well, they try to keep him alive. There are so many questions about who he is, why did he do what he did if in fact he has it in that video from earlier? week and this vast crime scene because the shooting happened far away from this and then it will be interesting to see how long it will take them to clear that area. Miriam said there will be some type of report for the news people that are there right now, we don't know if it's from Vernon PD from Downey PEBB or the Sheriff's Department, but we're hoping someone will respond to what they can say right now because, As we often know with these investigations, there is little information up front.

It takes days and weeks for that information to finally be available, but maybe they can tell us some of their motivations and why they did it, which they obviously don't know now, could tell us a lot about the murder investigation from earlier this week. Okay, so we'll continue to watch this as paramedics render aid and transport the suspect to the hospital, but he's alive. Surprisingly, he is alive. As you watch that video and you see the gunshots going through that car, I think it's pretty remarkable, but the driver. He was able to get out of the car and basically walk to safety and be taken into custody, but the fact that the suspect is still alive is also pretty incredible and Merriam Hernandez has been around that scene.

He was told to back off a little, but you have more information. Mary, more you, yes, no, no, real information, just observations, we see the ambulance stop a little, we're not sure where it's going, but the closest trauma center is probably USC county. I understand from the photo you received. On Air Seven the suspect could be seen being treated by paramedics and officers who also assisted him with an IV and made sure he was secured on the stretcher before he was loaded into the ambulance. Now he's walking away from the scene, we're not sure when yet.

We'll get more details on how this all played out. The sheriff's deputy I just spoke to said they could be providing information from Downey, where this all originated, but we'll try to get as much information from the scene as we can. that armored vehicle leaves the scene and this scene is being cleared, so hopefully we can at least get close to some of the vehicles that are still there, the personnel that are still there and find out what we can about what happened and the process what they went through to resolve this matter without further harm to anyone else, to civilians or to police personnel, David Ellen is fine, Míriam Hernandez, thank you in your place of brand and Michelle Tuzee here as we begin, I am a witness news at five with this news. breaking news we've been following for the better part of two hours chase a shooting and a suspect now in custody and in an ambulance it's a shooting on the streets of southern California a chase with a murder suspect here the passenger shooting down the window right in the middle of traffic unsuspecting drivers caught in the middle of it all the police returning fire breaking the glass in the back of that Prius the woman driving the car tried to escape at one point but took cover The blood is turned over to the police, the passenger, although the one with a gun still inside, now the SWAT team is on the scene, they get there, use tear gas and a robot to get closer and discover the fate of the suspect who has been.

Shooting with the police I'm Mark Brown, this is Eyewitness News at 5:00 and I'm Michelle Tuzee and these are photos live now from Air Seven or actually sorry, they're not live photos, but these are photos from before when The SWAT team came in a few moments ago pulling the suspect, the passenger who had a gun, out of the car again. We've been following this just before 3 p.m. We do not know the condition of that passenger, we do know that at least he was seriously injured, we do know that that passenger is described as a suspect inmurder and now we are watching live footage of that transport and here is the video of the The crime that this person may be involved in may be the person who is being taken to a hospital right now the suspect in the store clerk convenience in the murder of a convenience store employee in Downey happened Tuesday night this was captured on store surveillance In the video you can see the suspect entering and then running out and when we saw those first images yesterday it was very disturbing because he ran in with a very large gun, he was in and out in a matter of seconds and it was almost like a murder occurred and the store clerk, Gurpreet Singh, a Marine and a beloved person in his community, was murdered and now we are in this situation in the city of Vernon, where a police chase ended with perhaps that suspect that you are seeing here in the Good involved, yes, the similarity, of course, in noticing this revolver that was used in the murder of Mr. .Singh is similar, very similar to the revolver he pointed out the window and fired at the police who were chasing him.

The suspect also looked like that long barrel gun in both cases and the suspect they were looking for was actually a murder suspect that we are trying to identify. Write this down and determine for sure if the man now in the back of that ambulance is the suspect in the murder of store clerk Mr. Singh and we continue to see live footage of this murder suspect being transported to a hospital. being followed by authorities behind there and as the investigation continues at the scene and it was a very alarming scene for many motorists who witnessed that shooting today. a

shootout

between pursuing authorities and the murder suspect then the chase came to an end at Down Erode and Bandini Boulevard at 2:45 p.m.

The driver gave up and came out with blood on her pants and shortly afterward the SWAT team was called to use tear gas. A K-9 was called and they were eventually able to get the suspect out of the car. At first it seemed like the person may have died, but apparently they are still showing signs of life and are now being taken to a hospital. Eyewitness News reporter Mary Moon on des has been following this scene from ground level and now she joins us with a live stream from the Marion Court. Yes, we are here right now.

You can see to your left the number of sheriff's vehicles leaving the scene. The armored vehicles they had surrounded followed the suspect vehicle and then surrounded it. There goes the K-9 unit, all these units involved and they paid for the takedown. this from this suspect this all happened when rush hour was rushing a very scary scene for motorists because this gunman was literally hanging out of the passenger window and firing shots it all ended here near Atlantic and the Bandini and Prius are still there this is the getaway car this is the car from which those shots were fired there was a driver who did it turned herself in and surrendered, but the shots did not stop, there was an exchange of shots and for approximately two hours there was a confrontation here, there were several verses from Anu to find out what exactly was happening inside that car. if the gunman was still moving if he was still a threat they had a dog there they used flashbang grenades to see if he responded finally they decided he was no longer a threat they moved very quickly to make sure they caught him the detainees handcuffed him and then put him on a stretcher They treated him for his injuries on the spot at least they gave him some first aid and then they put him in the ambulance and now they are taking him away.

You can also see an armored truck now leaving the scene just passing by, but this is still a crime scene, this means it is still an active crime scene, as they have to look, you know all the bullets fired, who shot them , how many bullets he made. the suspect fires how many rounds through the officers fire all of that has to be recorded and they want to make sure that everything was done here by the rules, but as far as we could see, as far as we could monitor, you know this individual was just extremely desperate trying of escaping a murder suspect and a high profile case in Downey, the agents wanted to catch him, but he was determined not to be caught until these last moments here in Vernon, that's the last thing we have now, we are waiting. getting information from sheriff's deputies about what happened in this process and getting the latest on the suspect's condition reporting live from Vernon is very important and it's ABC 7 Eyewitness News okay.

Thank you Miriam and the image on your right is the live image from air 7 HD which is the ambulance leading that chase suspect the murder suspect being driven we believe a USC county medical center he is in Lincoln Heights in this moment en route to what we believe is some sort of USC which is the closest trauma center where he will be treated and much to the surprise of many of us the suspect is apparently still alive after that burst of gunfire and will be treated. If he can save him, of course he will face triumph.

Okay, that's a story we'll continue. Follow us, we will keep you updated on any developments in the meantime, we move on to another scary situation. An improvised explosive device detonates in the hands of a man. It happened outside the Fullerton Denny's restaurant. Police say he wasn't the only one. Orange County Reporter Greg. Lee has more information on this eyewitness photo showing the immediate aftermath of an explosion at 410 Fullerton. Police say the 59-year-old homeless man in the picture was holding an AED when he exploded. Major injuries, loss of fingers, significant damage to his hands and to his throat and face in the area where police say he is expected to survive, happened around 9:00 this morning behind a Denny's near Orange, Thorpe and Harbor, where neighbors say many homeless people sleep.

This man felt the explosion against him, but he couldn't. I did not do it. see anything you would like notably no one else was injured and there was no damage to any buildings when officers arrived they found a second suspicious device and called the Sheriff's bomb squad the Orange County Sheriff's bomb squad completed their investigation they found an improvised explosive device the bomb squad made the device safe the man is expected to face criminal charges for possessing the improvised explosive devices detectives were collecting evidence and now they must find out how they were made and why this man had them it was a gunpowder device probably the size of between a golf ball and a baseball filled with black powder and a fuse.

Greg Lee ABC 7 Eyewitness News charges death by drag after an attempted purse snatching caught on this surveillance video. Both Gregory Walker, 19, and Giovanni, 20, in Los Angeles, faced a murder charge. A third suspect, Brad Brown, 19, of Hawthorne, was charged with robbery. Investigators say Yaya Quin, 31, of Santa Ana, can be seen outside a shopping center in Garden Grove on Wednesday when one of the robbers grabbed her purse that was thrown at her. the ground and she was run over and killed the suspect fled at top speed but sheriff's deputies caught them spring rains that hit southern California today if you've been outside you probably got caught in them the rains have been moving through Los Angeles , valleys and the Inland Empire all day Could it be a wet weekend?

Let's consult with our meteorologist. Dallas Raines now. Thank you. Well, certainly, today a lot of clouds across Southern California had a stretch of time with precipitation totals between about a tenth and a half of an inch of rain in Ventura. County, we've seen some storms rumbling up there, here's the 7000 HD mega Doppler line right now, so let's zoom in on the area where we saw the storms earlier, this was around north of Santa Paula towards Fraser Park, it looks like now all the thunder and lightning is over