Suspect in Standoff With Police Surrenders

A man fleeing authorities fired several rounds at a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter Thursday, triggering a daylong standoff when one of two suspects barricaded himself inside a Tarzana apartment complex.

During the standoff, police evacuated residents of nearby homes and 100 students in a private school on Lindley Avenue.

The incident began at 9:10 a.m. when two men stole a car equipped with an anti-theft device that helped police locate it in the 15000 block of Roscoe Boulevard in North Hills, Cmdr. Michel Moore said.

A 15-minute chase through the San Fernando Valley began after police tried to pull the car over. It eventually collided with another car on Lindley beneath the Ventura Freeway, and the suspects ran, Moore said.

One of them ran south on Lindley past apartments and single-story homes, and one fired several rounds from a handgun at a police helicopter, police said.

It was unclear if the helicopter was damaged, Moore said. “We pulled the helicopter out of the air to inspect it.”

Within an hour, police had detained one suspect. The other suspect holed up in a second-floor apartment of a 40-unit complex before surrendering just before 3 p.m., Moore said.

Police said one of the suspects knew someone who lives in the apartment building.

The incident interrupted an ice cream social and bingo game at the nearby Encino Rivera Retirement Home, which has an assisted-living center with 127 residents, according to Maria Luisa Avneri, an administrator.

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Times staff writer Kristina Sauerwein contributed to this report.