Two armed suspects arrested near USC
A manhunt ensued near USC’s University Park campus Tuesday night, concluding with two armed suspects being taken into custody.
At approximately 6:30 p.m., LAPD officers were in the process of arresting two armed men near Ralphs supermarket on Adams Boulevard and Vermont Avenue during a traffic stop when the suspects discarded their weapons and fled on foot.
During the attempted arrest, one suspect who attempted to flee was immediately caught and the other fled away from the scene to the neighborhood of Ellendale Place, a heavily populated student residential area, according to DPS Deputy Chief David Carlisle. LAPD helicopters and K-9 unit also arrived on the scene to assist officers with the search for the suspect.
The suspect was later located behind an apartment complex on 2659 Ellendale Pl.
LAPD officers declined to disclose the names of the suspects involved and halted oncoming traffic in the area surrounding Ellendale Place and Vermont Avenue.
Austin Chanu, a senior majoring in music composition, was studying with his roommate in the apartment complex when the suspect was apprehended.
“We noticed there were three cop cars outside our apartment on the street,” he said. “They had the beam lights pointed toward our apartment.”
Chanu said that LAPD entered the building shortly after with K-9 units and apprehended the suspect in the back of the complex where he was hiding.
“Five minutes later, two of the cops came out with the suspect apprehended,” he said.
DPS sent out a Trojan Alert at approximately 6:52 p.m. warning students of the ongoing police activity and asking them to stay clear of the area.
At 8:05 p.m., a Trojan Alert was sent out stating that the incident was resolved and the area is safe.
LAPD took the suspect into custody at approximately 7:37 p.m. | Mariya Dondonyan
LAPD took the suspect into custody at approximately 7:37 p.m. | Mariya Dondonyan
I don’t understand Ras5555’s point. USC, like a number of other big private universities in NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago and elsewhere, was built in a nice neighborhood that became slums decades later. That is regrettable, but it is a workable situation that urban students learn to live with.. Ras5555 could have gone to one of many fine colleges in pastoral surroundings. Perhaps he can still transfer.
Even though these suspect fled in an area where many USC students live, since it was technically off campus and these gun-toting thugs are not USC students, I am sure USC will say this is a non-USC related incident. As if flying bullets will automatically veer away from people possessing an USC ID.