Wounded Pursuit Suspect Surrenders After Hour-Long Standoff in South L.A.

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A kidnapping suspect was shot in South Los Angeles today in an apparent exchange of gunfire with deputies who had been following his SUV and were then held at bay for nearly 90 minutes when the wounded man refused to surrender.

The man stopped the white SUV on 43rd Street near Vermont Avenue about 5:25 p.m., got out and pointed what appeared to be a silver-colored handgun at deputies when he was struck, according to reports from the scene. He appeared to have fired shots before being hit.

With a red blood stain visible on the back of his white T-shirt, the man then staggered to the front porch of the home, where he remained, at times sitting up, until about 6:45 p.m., when he surrendered and was taken into custody.

No deputies were injured, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A helicopter dropped a sheriff's team of SWAT medics from the Special Enforcement Bureau off nearby as the standoff unfolded and residents were evacuated from nearby homes. The team was then seen moving into place near the house, where other deputies and firefighters were standing by.

The man was wanted on suspicion of a kidnapping in Lakewood and was being followed by deputies from the sheriff's South Los Angeles Station, said Deputy Grace Medrano.

She did not know when or where the deputies began following the SUV. The man was being treated at the scene, but an update on his conditionwas not immediately available.

He was wanted for suspicion of kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon against his wife in Paramount on Sunday, according to KNX-AM (1070).

The chase and shooting were broadcast live by several television stations, at least one of which aired a tight shot of the shooting, briefly cutting away when it appeared the suspect had been struck.

Although a helicopter was overhead and spike strips were used in an attempt to disable the SUV, sheriff's officials said deputies were following, not chasing, the vehicle and did not deploy lights and sirens as the suspect, at times driving on the wrong side of the street, wound his way on streets thick with vehicle and pedestrian traffic, at one point narrowly missing a skateboarder.