Today Police released the dashcam and bodycam video of the car chase of 28 year-old Gene Atkins as he crashes and runs into Trader Joe's in Silverlake on Saturday. Shots are fired.
Atkins led LAPD on a wild chase that took them from Hollywood to Silverlake after allegedly shooting and wounding his 76-year-old grandmother and fled in a stolen car, taking along a 17-year-old girl who was grazed by a bullet. Police say Atkins kidnapped the girl.
Moore said Atkins fired two rounds at the officers through the rear window of his vehicle but the officers did not fire back at that time.
When Atkins crashed his car into a utility pole in front of Trader Joe's, police pulled the girl from the car and Atkins ran inside the store and barricaded himself.
You can see in the video shots are being fired at an armed Atkins while he runs into Trader Joe's. At this time store Melyda Corado tries to escape out that same door that Atkins ran into - Atkins gets wounded in the arm and Corado gets caught int he line of fire and stumbles back inside the store.
LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore said the fatal bullet first hit Corado's arm, then entered her body.
"I'm sorry to report that we've now determined through our forensic investigation, that one of the officers' rounds struck Ms. Corado as she was exiting the market and was in close proximity to Atkins, Ms. Corado ran back into the store and collapsed behind the manager's desk."
Atkins ran into the store, keeping the roughly 40 people inside hostage for three hours.
The 3-hour stand-off hostage situation ended when the Atkins (the suspect) hand-cuffed himself and surrendered to police.
Atkins appeared in court today facing more than 30 charges, including
- One count of murder
- Six counts of attempted murdercounts of false imprisonment of hostages
- And one count of felony evading
His arraignment was postponed to August 14, and his bail was set at $18.7 million.
- Even though Atkins is not accused of firing the bullet that killed Corado, prosecutors said he was charged with murder under a legal rule that his actions prompted a series of events leading to her killing.
According to family members, Atkins had struggled with anger issues as a child and was deeply affected by his mother's death from leukemia in 2014.
Atkins is being held in lieu of $2 million on suspicion of murder, according to an LAPD spokesman. His grandmother is in the hospital and expected to survive.