Suspected Armed Kidnaper Wounded by Anaheim Police

A man toting a shotgun was wounded early Sunday after allegedly kidnaping an Anaheim motorist and confronting police officers in the lobby of a local hotel, authorities said.

Alarmed workers at the Crown Sterling Suites at 3100 E. Frontera St. called police about 12:30 a.m. to report an armed man in the hotel lobby.

Three officers from the Anaheim Police Department who responded to the call for help fired their service weapons when the suspect refused to surrender, police said.

The suspect, who had not been identified, was shot several times in the lower torso and is being treated at UCI Medical Center, police said.

According to reports, the suspect approached an Anaheim man in a nearby residential area and forced him to drive to the hotel. The victim, who also was not identified, fled after dropping off the suspect, police said.

After the confrontation, police arrested the wounded man on suspicion of kidnaping and aggravated assault on a police officer.

As is routine, the Orange County district attorney’s office will investigate the incident to determine whether officers were justified in discharging their weapons.

Hotel officials refused to comment, but a worker who declined to be identified said the suspect was wearing military-style camouflage clothing. Police, however, disputed that description and said the man was wearing blue jeans and a green tank top.