Police kill man in gun battle on 10 Freeway in East L.A.; freeway closed for hours

Nathan Solis
Monterey Park, CA - March 31: Police investigators line I-10 Freeway to look for evidence after police fatally shot a suspect (driving the white car) who apparently bailed out of a vehicle and ran across the San Bernardino (10) Freeway in the City Terrace area today, prompting a full closure of the highway and causing extensive backups in both directions. Photo taken in Monterey Park Friday, March 31, 2023. The shooting occurred late Friday morning on the 10 Freeway just east of the Long Beach (710) Freeway. The California Highway Patrol initially announced that all eastbound lanes of the freeway were closed at Eastern Avenue, but the westbound side of the heavily traveled freeway was also shut down to accommodate the investigation.(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Police investigators line the 10 Freeway in East Los Angeles, where Monterey police officers fatally shot a man Friday morning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Monterey Park police officers shot and killed a man in a gun battle Friday morning on the 10 Freeway in East Los Angeles, shutting down traffic in both directions into Friday night and causing a major traffic backup, authorities said.

Police tried to pull over a white BMW they said was linked to a March 14 robbery in Los Angeles when the suspect began to shoot at officers, prompting the fatal interaction. The incident began shortly after 10 a.m.

When officers attempted to pull the driver over, he fled, and a police pursuit began, authorities said. Police pursued the vehicle westbound on the 10 Freeway from Atlantic Boulevard to around Campus Road.

Police work near the scene where a body lies under a tarp on the 710 Freeway southbound onramp.
Police work near the scene where a body lies under a tarp on the 710 Freeway southbound onramp. Monterey police officers fatally shot a man on the nearby 10 Freeway. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The suspect began to shoot at officers with a semiautomatic handgun from inside his vehicle, according to Sgt. Arlene Chaidez with the Monterey Park Police Department. The driver's car became disabled near the center divider of the freeway, and the suspect got out and tried to run away, still firing at officers, she said.

Three Monterey Park officers fired back at the suspect and struck him, Chaidez said. Police provided aid to the man until paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived, but he died at the scene, according to police.

Detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were investigating the shooting. The Monterey Park Police Department was leading the investigation.

As officers investigated the shooting, the freeway remained closed in both directions for about 10 hours.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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