A mother and her teenage daughter held against their wills after a gunbattle injured two police officers were released Wednesday night and their captor was taken into custody to end an hours-long SWAT standoff in a Southern California neighborhood.
The tense standoff began the morning before Thanksgiving after officers responded to a report of a 14-year-old female being dragged by a male. Inglewood police described the attack as a case of domestic violence.
Responding officers exchanged gunfire with the man, who holed himself up in a home in the 10700 block of Fifth Avenue.
SWAT teams in armored vehicles and other law enforcement agencies descended on the neighborhood, described by residents as a "quiet" and "nice" place to live.
Details about how the captor was taken into custody and the hostages were rescued were not immediately available. The standoff ended about 9:30 p.m.
Law enforcement officials told NBC that one Inglewood officer wearing a protective vest was struck in the chest by the gunfire. Details regarding his injuries were not immediately available, but the officer was alert and conscious, officials said.
A second officer also was hurt, but it appears that she was not shot, officials said.
Both officers were initially taken to Centinela Hospital Medical Center. The officer shot in the chest was later transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the other officer was released.
Inglewood police Lt. Oscar Mejia said two females were being held hostage inside the home. The relationship between the mother-daughter pair and their captor was not immediately known.
Residents described a quick police response after hearing a barrage of gunfire.
"I heard what I thought were fireworks," resident Janice Wilson said. "Then I realized those weren't fireworks.
"I stepped out on my porch, and I could see the officers coming."
Aerial video showed at least 15 patrol vehicles in the area, and several officers and deputies were outside the house. The Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatched three ambulances and other personnel.
Video from the scene showed an officer carrying a child and escorting others away from the neighborhood, which was locked down during the standoff. Several homes were evacuated.
