Authorities Tuesday identified a man who was shot and killed by Los Angeles police after he took a woman hostage at gunpoint in a downtown high-rise apartment.
Rudy Anderson, 45, died at the scene of Friday's shooting, the Los Angeles County coroner's office reported. His city of residence was not known.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the LAPD's Central Division began receiving radio calls at about 4:10 p.m. Friday of an armed man committing several crimes in the area of Eighth Street and Broadway.
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The suspect approached a man on the sidewalk near Eighth and Broadway, held a gun to the man's face and pulled the trigger, but the weapon did not fire, police said.
The gunman entered a business in the 700 block of Broadway where three family members were inside, including a 14-year-old boy, police said. The suspect pointed a gun at the group and fired, and one of the bullets grazed the side of the boy's head, police said. The boy was treated at a hospital, and was expected to survive.
The man then went to Sixth and Spring streets, where he tried to carjack a woman standing outside her vehicle but failed, police said.
Security officers flagged down responding LAPD officers and they chased the suspect to an apartment complex at Sixth and Main streets.
Officers established a perimeter and began requesting additional resources, including a SWAT team and a K-9 unit.
"While a tactical plan was being put in place, officers became aware of surveillance footage from inside the apartment complex,'' police said.
"They (officers) saw the suspect in a hallway armed with a gun forcing a female to come with him.''
In a statement issued Saturday, police said: "At that point, we knew we had a hostage situation. While LAPD personnel were outside of the complex they saw through a window, the suspect holding a gun to the hostage's head.
Based on the already incredibly violent actions and fearing the suspect was going to kill the hostage, SWAT entered the apartment. An OIS (officer-involved shooting) occurred and the suspect was struck by gunfire and has died at scene.''
