Officer Hurt in Shootout

A Los Angeles Police motorcycle officer, responding to a call for assistance from another officer, was wounded Friday evening in East Hollywood in a shootout with a robbery and kidnaping suspect who was also wounded.

The wounded officer, identified as Steve Keyhole, was shot in the shoulder and leg.

The suspect, whose name was not released, was in stable condition with multiple wounds .

The shootings took place about 6:15 p.m. near Western Avenue and Elmwood Place. Police Cmdr. Dave Gascon said an officer in a patrol car was flagged down by a pedestrian who said that a man was holding up a nearby restaurant at gunpoint.

The suspect spotted the police officer and grabbed a 12-year-old girl from a yard, taking her hostage, police said. When the motorcycle officer arrived to help a few moments later, shots were fired. The girl was unhurt, but the motorcycle officer and the suspect were wounded.

The suspect then dragged the screaming child to the police car, which he then commandeered. The wounded officer gave chase. As the suspect turned onto Elmwood, he crashed into an oncoming car. The girl fled and the suspect was wrestled to the ground by other officers, authorities said.