Suspect shot by police, officer saved by bulletproof vest at end of chase in Boyle Heights, LAPD says

BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES () — A wild police chase ended with an officer and an armed suspect both being struck by gunfire in Boyle Heights on Tuesday afternoon, according to police. Investigators say the officer’s bulletproof vest saved his life.

The shooting occurred shortly after 2 p.m. in a residential area near Garnet Street and Marietta Street.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the chase began at Washington Boulevard and Alameda Street near Vernon when an officer spotted the suspect in a vehicle with a gun. The 2.5-mile chase ended with the suspect crashing his pickup truck into a curb and some brush on the side of the road in Boyle Heights.

That’s when LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell says the suspect got out of the truck and started running, firing shots at the pursuing officers.

An officer was hit in the chest, but the bullet was stopped by his bulletproof vest, according to police. AIR7 video shows an officer talking to paramedics and pointing to his chest at the scene. He was loaded into an ambulance, taken to the hospital and is expected to be OK.

New photos released by LAPD show where the bullet pierced the officer’s vest. Photos also show bullet holes in a patrol vehicle.

Officers returned fire, and the suspect sustained multiple gunshot wounds, according to LAPD. Paramedics were seen tending to the suspect in AIR7 video. It appeared he was not conscious when he was loaded into an ambulance and taken away from the scene.

“The suspect continued to fire at officers. Multiple officers fired at him. The suspect was shot. L.A. Fire Department responded, treated the suspect at scene, and transported him to a local hospital, where he’s currently in critical condition in surgery,” McDonnell said. “For the suspect to get out of the vehicle and engage in the behavior that he did, he literally could have taken anybody out.”

AIR7 video from above the scene shows a semi-automatic gun on the ground, circled with chalk. Dozens of yellow evidence markers were scattered along the pavement.

Detectives said they are reviewing body-worn camera footage and continuing to investigate at the scene. Officers were still in the neighborhood collecting evidence several hours after the shooting.