LOS ANGELES (AP) – Two security guards at a downtown Los Angeles shopping plaza in the United States (US) were wounded in a gunfight with a man as they tried to stop him from making off with more than USD1,000 of stolen merchandise, police said.
The guards confronted the man as he left a Target store at the FIGat7th outdoor shopping mall on Monday night. The suspect fired at least five rounds and one of the guards fired as well, Los Angeles Police Captain Raul Jovel said in a news conference. The man fled, sparking a hunt that ended hours later with police saying a suspect was arrested. “We’re really lucky nobody got killed in this incident,” Jovel said. The arrest of the man accused of wounding the guards followed an hours long standoff on Tuesday at an apartment in Westlake, California, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The shooting ends a year in which California voters showcased their frustration with retail theft and other crime amid a perception it’s been allowed to go unchecked. A ballot measure making shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders passed easily, rolling back a law passed by voters a decade ago that downgraded theft under USD950 to a misdemeanour. A lack of local data makes it hard to quantify how bad the problem is, but viral videos earlier this year showed hordes of people running into major retail stores and shoplifting en mass.
Voters also ousted several progressive district attorneys.
In Los Angeles, Jovel said the man had crammed more than USD1,000 of merchandise into his bag, including stationery and clothing. Jovel had asked the public to report any information about the suspect to police and warned that he was considered dangerous.
