Video of a dangerous high-speed car chase that took place in East Los Angeles on July 10 captured the moment an officer opened fire, shooting and killing a carjacking suspect at the end of the pursuit, KTLA 5 reported Wednesday.
Authorities allege the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Luis Flores, crashed into a police vehicle, striking another driver and endangering pedestrians before police forced the stolen vehicle into a pole. KTLA5.
“Yeah, yeah! Crash, crash, crash!” the newscaster can be heard saying. video “The vehicle struck a utility pole. It struck a utility pole,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) said in a statement. (RELATED: “It's like a scene from a movie”: Police shoot dead carjacking suspect)
“I'm trying to put it in reverse. It's backing up towards black and white. I'm stepping on the gas. It's backing up towards black and white, but it's not going anywhere,” the news anchor continued in the video, which is age-restricted on YouTube and cannot be embedded.
Authorities say the 19-year-old carjacking suspect struck a police car, another car and pedestrians during a 20-minute high-speed chase. https://t.co/YbjeGiqUKY pic.twitter.com/xzKGHHGa6Z
— KTLA (@KTLA) August 15, 2024
picture The suspect returns to his patrol car and appears to step on the accelerator as the stuck car's tires burn and smoke fills the air.
“There's smoke coming out of the car. He's dead. He's dead,” the newscaster said, as police opened fire on the suspect. “Yeah! They're shooting! They're shooting! They're shooting! They're putting bullets in the back window. He's dead. The suspect appears to be unconscious.”
In the video, officers can be heard saying, “Stop the car! Stop the car!” and “He's stepping on the gas!”, the latter as Flores' tires began smoking and he began backing up toward the officers, according to the LAPD account.
When the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived, officers removed Flores from the vehicle and provided him with “medical assistance” before taking him to a hospital, where he died on July 16, the department said.
According to LASD, the pursuit began when officers received a call about a vehicle that had been allegedly carjacked, identified the vehicle and pulled Flores over. Once officers exited the vehicle, LASD alleges Flores put the stolen vehicle in reverse, wrecked the patrol car and drove off.
The chase lasted about 20 minutes, according to KTLA 5.
No one other than Flores was injured, according to the sheriff's office.
The California Department of Justice's Division of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident, according to LASD.
