Burglary suspect killed by police in Mid-City after starting house fire
LOS ANGELES - A burglary suspect allegedly armed with a knife was shot and killed after a wild standoff with police at a Mid-City home, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
It happened around 3:20 a.m Monday in the 2600 block of South Halm after police responded to a report of a burglary in progress.
That burglary call quickly turned into a call for help from the fire department after police saw smoke coming from inside the house.
"Heard some noise on my front porch, and there was some guy hanging from the roof of my house, then he got down, got a broom stick and busted out my next door neighbor's window," said one resident named Thomas.
The burglary suspect, later identified by police as Lavell Adama, made his way into the home and allegedly set it on fire, with a woman in her 80s inside. Thomas and his brother grabbed their garden hose and entered the house through the broken window to attempt to put out the flames.
"She was in the house when he started the fire. She bolted out. That's when I looked back and saw the kitchen now was on fire. The smoke got so bad we had to get out. That's when he came out of the bathroom naked and my brother sprayed him with the garden hose," Thomas explained.
When officers entered the home they encountered Adama, who was armed with a knife.
"Officers did encounter that suspect, who was armed with a knife. They used a beanbag shotgun. The suspect ran back into the home -- further in. At that point, they declared a barricade, and LAPD SWAT was requested. That was around 5:15 this morning," said LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar.
The standoff lasted roughly four hours.
"He came out with the tear gas," Thomas told FOX 11.
Police say Adama climbed out of a window, still holding the knife, threatening officers, and was unwilling to surrender.
Officers then opened fire, hitting and killing him.
"I figure he was on some medication or something, because when he got down from my roof he was just jumping around with a stick."
Three other possible burglary suspects were taken into custody by LAPD.
The owner of the home that caught fire was in Brazil, but her aunt was the one inside the house at the time of the incident.