Several blocks of downtown Los Angeles were shut down for hours Wednesday after reports of someone shooting a rifle from an apartment high-rise prompted a police SWAT team response.
At least two men were taken into custody following the about eight-hour standoff, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Charles Miller. He did not say whether any firearms were recovered.
No injuries were reported.
The incident began just after 5:30 a.m. when police officers responded to reported gunshots in the 900 block of Broadway.
Responding officers requested backup and began searching the large apartment complex — identified as the Broadway Palace Apartments — for any potential victims or suspects.
By Wednesday afternoon, police had determined that the gunshots had come from inside a unit.
During a news conference, LAPD Capt. Michael Bland said that a person inside the apartment was armed and refused to come out.
“We believe that suspect has a tactical advantage so we’ll call our SWAT team, who is highly trained, and they also have a crisis negotiation team built in,” Bland said.
Bland said police tried to contact the person to de-escalate the situation and encourage the person to surrender to “lower the intensity before the SWAT team has to make forced entry.”
It was not immediately clear whether the two men who were taken into custody voluntarily surrendered, but an LAPD official said neither were injured.
Police closed off streets in the area from 8th Street to Olympic Boulevard and Main to Hill streets during the standoff. All roads had reopened as of shortly before 2:30 p.m.
Video footage taken on the ground and from the air showed police and fire vehicles, including ambulances and firetrucks, parked outside the apartment complex.
Nearby resident Itzel Enciso told KTLA that she woke up to more than a dozen gunshots.
“It’s crazy,” she said, “because it was so many gunshots like back to back to back.”
