Police shoot driver of stolen delivery truck in San Gabriel

El Monte police officers shot and wounded a man who allegedly stole a delivery truck early Friday morning and was chased into San Gabriel.

A bloody sidewalk next to a delivery truck at San Marino Avenue and Leslie Drive marked the spot where the pursuit reached its conclusion about 4:40 a.m. after the driver hit a spike strip. As the driver backed up the truck toward officers, they opened fire, Sheriff’s Lt. John Corina said.

The suspect, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

El Monte police began the pursuit shortly after reports that the delivery truck had been stolen after a delivery driver left the keys in the ignition while making a drop in El Monte. Officers spotted the truck on the westbound 10 Freeway and initiated a short pursuit that continued onto San Gabriel surface streets.

One of two suspects got out of the truck during a brief stop mid-pursuit and was taken into custody. The driver continued to flee in the midsize truck until he drove over the spike strip, authorities said.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives, who handle officer-involved shootings for El Monte, are still seeking to determine the number of shots fired and by how many officers.

A neighbor who spoke to KTLA described hearing the pursuit coming down the street, followed by gunfire.

“We heard sirens coming up, and then all of the sudden there was a burst of maybe six to eight shots, went silent and then another three to four shots after that,” Matt Jiggins said.

“You could hear the car chase coming down and that was about it,” he recalled. “My dog woke me up when the first shot went off, I was thinking it was fireworks.”

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