Chase and Standoff Lead to 2 Arrests

A man fleeing authorities fired several rounds at a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter Thursday, triggering a daylong standoff when one of two suspects barricaded himself inside a Tarzana apartment complex.

No one was injured in the shooting in the 5400 block of Lindley Avenue, police said, and both suspects surrendered by late afternoon.

The incident began at 9:10 a.m. when two men stole a green, two-door Pontiac equipped with an anti-theft device that helped police locate the car in the 15000 block of Roscoe Boulevard in North Hills, Cmdr. Michel Moore said.

A 15-minute chase through the San Fernando Valley began after police tried to pull the car over. The vehicle eventually collided with another car on Lindley Avenue beneath the Ventura Freeway, and the suspects ran off, Moore said.

One of them ran south on Lindley past apartments and single-story homes, and one fired several rounds from a handgun at a police helicopter, police said.

Authorities withheld the suspects’ names Thursday but said they face felony charges, including grand theft auto, evading police and attempted murder of an officer.

It was unclear if the helicopter was damaged, Moore said. “We pulled the helicopter out of the air to inspect it.”

Police detained one of the men within an hour of the incident. The other suspect holed up in a second-floor apartment of a 40-unit complex before surrendering just before 3 p.m., Moore said.

During the standoff, police evacuated residents of nearby homes and 100 students attending a private school on Lindley.

“The children were never in danger,” Moore said, praising the school’s quick response.

Police said one of the suspects knew someone who lives in the apartment building.

The incident interrupted a bingo game at the nearby Encino Rivera Retirement Home, said Maria Luisa Avneri, an administrator.

“Nobody misses bingo,” Avneri said, “so you know this is a big event.”

Times staff writer Kristina Sauerwein contributed to this report.