Police find no evidence of gunman, hostages at Homeboy Industries
Los Angeles police said Friday that overnight reports of a gunman holding hostages at Homeboy Industries in Chinatown could not been verified and that the only crime officers could confirm was vandalism to an employee’s vehicle.
LAPD Officer Nuria Vanegas said police received a call at 10:22 p.m. saying that an armed former employee was at the site of Homeboy Industries at 130 Bruno St. holding six to eight people inside at gunpoint.
Vanegas told KTLA that the caller was not at the location.
Responding officers conducted a sweep of the business, but no gunman was found, LAPD spokesman Kevin Maiberger said. He said officers could not establish that criminal threats had been made or find evidence of a hostage situation.
The only crime authorities were able to establish was vandalism to one of the Homeboy employee’s vehicles, Maiberger said.
Officers also reviewed surveillance footage and were unable to determine whether a weapon was involved, he added.
“The folks at the business were not cooperative,” he said. “It’s slow going out there.”
Police remained at the scene until around 3:25 a.m., Maiberger said, and were still searching for the reported suspect. No description was immediately available.
Twitter: @MattStevensLAT
Twitter: @latimesemily
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