All northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles were shut down before 5:30 a.m. Friday after a robbery suspect was shot by police during a chase that began at a 7-Eleven near LAX. Drivers were diverted off at Howard Hughes Parkway as officers blocked the freeway for what authorities said could be a six- to eight-hour closure.
The incident began around 4:15 a.m. near Manchester Avenue and Airport Boulevard, where a man allegedly assaulted another person with a gun and stole the victim’s glasses, police said. The victim called 911 and gave location information that helped officers catch up with the suspect, setting off the pursuit that ended on the freeway.
The closure hit one of Los Angeles’ busiest commuter corridors just as the morning rush was starting. Northbound onramps at Sepulveda Boulevard, La Tijera Boulevard and Howard Hughes Parkway were also closed, forcing traffic away from the area and leaving drivers to find another route north.
What makes the case sharper is what happened when police reached the suspect. Investigators said he refused to get out of the car, led officers onto the northbound 405 and allegedly fired at them; officers fired back, killing him. No officers were injured, and the suspect was hospitalized before dying of his injuries.
The unanswered piece is how officers first locked onto the suspect after the 911 call, but the impact was immediate and concrete: a major freeway near LAX was shut at the height of the morning commute, with lanes expected to stay closed for hours while investigators worked the scene and traffic crews kept drivers moving around it.
