LA Deputies Rescue Kidnapping Victim, Killing Suspected Rapist

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies shot and killed a man suspected of kidnapping and raping woman at gunpoint in South Los Angeles.

The suspect was killed trying to run away from deputies following a dramatic rescue and car chase. The ordeal began in the Vermont Vista area, where a friend of the victim said saw the woman being kidnapped at gunpoint from 103rd and Figueroa streets. The friend called police and followed the alleged kidnapper to the area of 127th Street and Budlong, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

According to investigators, that's when the suspect got out of his silver SUV and opened fire on the friend and another occupied vehicle. The man got back into his SUV with the victim still inside and drove to a Park and Ride parking lot in the 11600 block of Vermont Avenue. Deputies, located the vehicle and saw that the windows were fogged and the victim was unclothed in the back seat, according to the sheriff's department.

As the suspect exited the vehicle and got back into the driver's seat, the victim was able to escape from the back seat as the SUV sped off.

Deputies rescued the woman, and the suspect drove northbound on Vermont Avenue to 108th Street with deputies in pursuit, according to the sheriff's department.

The suspect crashed the SUV into a gate at the end of a cul de sac on 108th Street, exited the vehicle and ran eastbound when at least one deputy shot him, according to the sheriff's department.

The suspect, who is in his mid-40s, was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:12 a.m., according to the coroner's office. A firearm was recovered, and no deputies were injured. The shooting was one of three police shootings in 24 hours in Los Angeles County. There were also two LAPD shootings, including one fatality.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.