Torrance Officer and Man Killed

A young Torrance policeman was killed late Thursday afternoon as officers shot it out with a man who barricaded himself inside a sporting goods store after storming in off the street, picking up a rifle and firing at one of the shop’s owners.

The unidentified suspect was found dead inside the store when officers entered several hours after the shooting.

The slain officer was Thomas Keller, 25, a three-year veteran of the department. A spokesman said he was to be married in a few weeks. Police Sgt. Wally Murker said he died at the scene.

Witnesses said the suspect drove up in a truck outside the Torrance Sports Shop at 1421 Marcelina Ave. shortly before 4 p.m. and was shouting angrily in Spanish. He strode into the store, where owners Gary Burnham and Terry Taylor were waiting on two customers.

Man Comes In Bellowing

One of the customers was Ray Simpson, 24, of Carson, who was shopping for baseball pants. He said one of the proprietors was walking to the stockroom when the man came in bellowing, “ ‘Hey, you! Goddamn it, man, I want to talk to you! I want some goddamned bullets. I want an automatic rifle. I’m an American. I’m not a wetback!’ ”

Simpson said the man was waving a .380 Colt automatic pistol.

While the other customer fled from the store, Simpson said he strolled down an aisle, attempting to look like a disinterested browser. He picked up an aluminum baseball bat and sat hiding it behind him in the shoe department as though waiting to try on a pair of shoes. One owner, apparently Burnham, ran out of sight in the rear of the store and called police.

Owner Taylor armed himself with one of the display weapons and crouched behind a shelf.

The gunman approached Simpson, demanding to know, “Where did that man go? I want some bullets. I want an automatic gun.”

Simpson said he replied as casually as possible, “I really wasn’t paying any attention.”

Burnham reappeared to tell Simpson the back door was open. Simpson ran.

The gunman reportedly spotted Taylor, seized an M-1 carbine and fired one round at him that missed. Both owners fled out the back door.

Within minutes, witnesses said, as many as 50 Torrance officers and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies surrounded the building. Special weapons team snipers went to nearby rooftops and a sheriff’s helicopter circled overhead.

Don Sciarrotta, owner of an adjacent building, said officers were shouting through the doorway of the sporting goods shop, trying to get the gunman to emerge. “They kept yelling and yelling,” he said.

Didn’t Obey Orders

But the man did not obey their orders. He appeared suddenly--and without his shirt--in the doorway where, according to police and to Sciarrotta, he fired first. There was a quick exchange of gunfire, lasting only a few seconds.

“Every policeman fired back,” Sciarrotta said. “I saw one cop go down. I think he got him in the chest.”

Another officer dragged the fallen Keller into an alleyway, but it was too late. Police said Keller had been wearing a bullet-proof vest.

After the flurry of gunfire, police settled down to wait the man out. Negotiators attempted to reach him by telephone, but he apparently had taken it off the hook.

Surrounding businesses were evacuated and the area was cordoned off. Redondo Beach police units patrolled Torrance while the city’s police force maintained the siege.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m., police fired tear gas into the store. They entered the premises shortly before 10 p.m. and found the suspect dead. It was not immediately determined if he died from earlier police gunfire, a self-inflicted wound or was overcome by tear gas.