January 01, 2015

 

City News Service 

 

 

A reputed gang member accused of shooting at an LAPD patrol car in South Los Angeles, prompting a citywide tactical alert and an hours-long manhunt, was charged with multiple felonies on Tuesday December 30. Christopher Taylor, 18, was arraigned on two counts each of shooting at an occupied vehicle and assault on a peace officer with a semi-automatic firearm, and one count of assault with a semi- automatic firearm, according to the District Attorney's Office.

 

A second suspect remained at large. The shooting occurred about 9:25 p.m. Sunday near 62nd and Hoover streets. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said the officers were in their patrol car when they “observed muzzle flashes and heard gunshots coming from two male pedestrians.”

 

“The officers believed they were the object of an attack and returned fire,” Beck said. “Neither the officers nor the suspects were struck by gunfire and a suspect was captured after a search of the area. A pistol, a rifle and multiple shell casings were also recovered.”

 

Prosecutors said Taylor and the second suspect were actually trying to shoot rival gang members who were in a car nearby, but they opened fire just as the patrol car came through the area. Taylor faces up to life in prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney's Office. The shooting came as police across the nation were on stepped-up alert in response to the Dec. 20 killings of two New York City police officers who were sitting in a patrol car in Brooklyn. The gunman, who later killed himself, said he was exacting revenge for the death of black men killed by police in Staten Island and in Ferguson, Missouri.

 

The LAPD went on tactical alert for more than eight hours following the South Los Angeles shooting. The alert was later modified to affect only the Southwest area stations of 77th Street, Southwest, Southeast and Harbor. A tactical alert allows officers to be kept on duty after the scheduled conclusion of their shifts.

 

A perimeter was set up from Gage Avenue to 61st Street and between Hoover Street and Vermont Avenue.

Category: News