Murder suspect in standoff with police in DTLA gets away

LOS ANGELES - An hours-long standoff with an armed murder suspect barricaded inside a downtown Los Angeles building Tuesday came to an end, unfortunately, with the suspect long gone. 

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Division were contacted at around 1:20 a.m. by a witness who had seen a man near Fifth Street who police were looking for in connection with a homicide, LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar told City News Service. That 40-year-old suspect is accused of gunning down another man on Skid Row at point-blank range just last week. 

After officers saw the suspect and attempted to stop him, the suspect ran inside a building in the 300 block of East Fifth Street. A SWAT team was called to the scene and attempted to negotiate a surrender with the suspect, Aguilar said.

Officers came face to face with him inside an apartment building that is designed for people with lower incomes or that are homeless so that they have shelter. He shut the door on them, and that's when they surrounded the building thinking he was still inside. 

But apparently, at some point, he got away. 

The suspect is considered armed and dangerous. 

No other information was immediately available.