The chase began around 5:30 p.m. on Gardena, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Officers spotted a white Mercedes sedan involved in a felony and ordered it to stop.
However, the suspects ignored the order and started fleeing. The suspect vehicle sped away along the 110 Freeway and collided with another vehicle at the intersection of 1st Street and Central Avenue.
The suspects then abandoned the vehicle and fled into the nearby mall, Japanese Village Plaza. Witnesses reported that at least two suspects got out of the car and ran into the mall. The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers, causing chaos as residents tried to flee.
Police cordoned off the area and began chasing the suspects, managing to arrest one of them. Chris Sandoval, a barista at Cafe Dulce in Japanese Village Plaza, said, “There was a rush of people taking refuge inside the store, and we hid for 15 minutes before the officers came in and confirmed that the situation was over.”
BY YEJIN KIM [support@koreadaily.com]
