Jason Kandel

2 Suspects in Custody After 2 Injured in Violent Home Invasion Robbery

Both suspects in a violent home invasion robbery in Santa Monica that left two people injured were in custody Saturday following a standoff with police in a nearby home.

Authorities continued to look for the other suspect in the robbery, which occurred at a home in the 200 block of 19th Street, near San Vicente Boulevard and the Riviera County Club, at 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

Two people were taken to hospitals after being found bloodied, according to media reports. One of the victims was stabbed at least 12 times in the attack.

The stabbing victim suffered "significant'' injuries, according to Rodriguez, while the other victim, who was struck with a blunt object, sustained minor injuries.

Police did not identity either victim. However, neighbors told several media outlets that the man was wealthy businessman Imtiaz Tar, vice president of the Beverly Hills-based Bernini clothing store and his 19-year-old son.

Following the attack, police responding to a report of shots fired encountered one suspect, who fled into the backyard of a home in the 200 block of 20th Street and was surrounded by officers. The man barricaded himself at the rear of the home but had no hostages, Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez told the Los Angeles Times.

The Santa Monica Police Department used social media to warn neighborhood residents to stay inside until the situation was resolved. Police and a SWAT unit responded and set up a perimeter around the home and just before 10 p.m. Friday, a sound diversion and a police dog were used to take the barricaded suspect into custody.

The suspect, a male juvenile, was brought out injured on a stretcher after the police dog went in the home.

A second suspect fled northbound in a car, but officers obtained details about the car including its license plate number and alerted law enforcement agencies in the surrounding area, police said Saturday morning. 

El Monte police took Brian Morgan, 24, into custody around 10:30 Friday night, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

The 200 to 300 block of 19th Street and the 2000 block of Carlyle Street remained closed early Saturday morning for the investigation, police reported.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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