Police shoot armed carjacking suspect on 210 Freeway in Sylmar, shutting lanes for hours

A man wanted on multiple warrants tried to carjack a driver on the westbound 210 Freeway in Sylmar before being shot by LAPD officers. All lanes were closed for nearly seven hours.

Armed suspect shot on 210 Freeway after attempted carjacking in Sylmar

All westbound lanes of the 210 Freeway in Sylmar were closed for nearly seven hours on Tuesday after Los Angeles police officers shot an armed man who allegedly attempted to carjack a driver on the freeway, abc7.com reports.

The closure began around the Polk Street overpass. California Highway Patrol issued a Sigalert at approximately 2:15 p.m., diverting all traffic off the freeway. The lanes fully reopened shortly after 9 p.m.

LAPD officers with the Narcotics Enforcement Detail had been searching for a known suspect with multiple outstanding warrants in the 14000 block of Bledsoe Street around 1 p.m. When officers located the suspect, he fled on foot and ran down to the freeway, where he allegedly approached a driver in the westbound lanes while armed with a handgun.

"He walked up to that vehicle armed with a handgun and attempted to carjack the uninvolved motorist," LAPD Capt. Mike Bland said.

Officers surrounded the suspect and ordered him to drop the weapon. He reportedly refused, at which point at least one officer opened fire. The suspect was shot in the arm and fell to the ground near his gun, but continued to resist commands, according to LAPD. Officers then deployed a 40mm less-lethal launcher, after which the suspect complied and was taken into custody.

AIR7 aerial footage showed officers handcuffing the man and loading him into an ambulance. His handgun was recovered at the scene.

The suspect was treated at a hospital and subsequently released into police custody. He now faces a lengthy list of charges. No officers or other drivers were injured.

The westbound closure caused significant disruption during the evening commute. Bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched from La Tuna Canyon near Sun Valley deep into the San Fernando Valley — at times extending upwards of five miles. Drivers seeking alternate routes backed up both the 170 Freeway and the 5 Freeway.

Resident Jose Olmos, who lives near the scene, described what he witnessed. "I went close to the chainlink, and then I see the gun on the freeway. But they were talking to the guy and put him inside the patrol," Olmos said.

Source: NY Post Metro