Police Kill Gunman in Auto Firm’s Headquarters

A shotgun-wielding man who fired several rounds at fleeing employees inside a car company’s Torrance headquarters was killed by police early Wednesday morning after a tense, 12-hour stand-off.

The unidentified man, reportedly disabled and upset about the company’s hiring policies on disabled people, used a crutch to walk into the headquarters lobby of Lexus, the luxury car division of Toyota Motor Sales, about 4 p.m. Tuesday, Lt. Dennis Frandsen said.

The man carried a 12-gauge shotgun and a small bag, later found to contain a .38-caliber pistol, Frandsen said.

About 20 terrified employees fled the 190th Street building when the man began firing the shotgun at them. Among those who escaped was a woman in a wheelchair, Frandsen said. None of the employees was injured.

One of the employees summoned police, who rapidly surrounded the building. After officers arrived, the man fired several more rounds through windows, blasting glass and debris onto sidewalks.

Police hesitated to storm the building because they were not certain that everyone had gotten out safely, Frandsen said.

Police negotiators talked to the man on the telephone repeatedly over the next few hours, and he said several times that he was thinking about giving himself up. Each time, however, he hung up before making any promise to do so, Frandsen said.

The man also placed several calls to a local news radio station, telling reporters during lengthy conversations that he was handicapped and upset with Toyota and Lexus because of their hiring policies on the disabled.

Shortly after midnight, he stopped talking to anyone, Frandsen said. After waiting three more hours for signs of activity, a Torrance special weapons team and a team of officers from the Redondo Beach and El Segundo police departments stormed the building.

Investigators did not find the man until 90 minutes later, when they spotted him hiding under a desk, gripping the shotgun, Frandsen said. The man ignored several orders to drop the weapon and then abruptly pointed it at the officers, who opened fire, Frandsen said. Two bullets struck the man, who was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he died shortly afterward.

Toyota company officials said they did not know the man’s identity or whether he had ever applied for a job at Lexus.

Toyota Motor Sales executive James Olson said the firm employs many handicapped people.