Man suspected of opening fire at LAPD station, wounding officer dies

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An officer stands by a cache of weapons that were found at the home of Daniel Yealu, the man accused of shooting one officer in the lobby of a police station. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Officer Ricky Brown puts up red tape at the entrance to an LAPD station in Mid-City where an officer was shot Monday night in the lobby. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles Police Officer Len Lai stands on yellow tape as an emergency response truck leaves an LAPD station in Mid-City L.A. where an officer was shot Monday night. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles Police Officer Ricky Brown stands in front of an LAPD station in Mid-City where an officer was shot in the lobby Monday night. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

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A uniform with bullet holes that belonged to an officer who was shot in the lobby of a station on Venice Boulevard. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD Chief Charlie Beck speaks to the media about the condition of the injured officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Monday night. “He is in great spirits,” Beck said. He described the officer as a “remarkable young man” who was “very, very lucky.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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An ambulance, rear, that carried one of the shooting victims sits outside the emergency entrance to Cedars-Sinai Hospital on Monday. A squad car that accompanied the ambulance is in the foreground. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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An LAPD officer stands guard at La Brea Avenue and Venice Boulevard, about a block from the station where the shooting occurred. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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The shooting was reported about 8:30 p.m. The suspect was critically wounded. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Investigators are trying to piece together how the violence unfolded, including how the gunman got to the station. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

By Richard Winton

April 24, 2014 11:35 AM PT

<i>This post has been corrected; see note below for details.</i>

A 29-year-old man shot by police after allegedly opening fire at a Los Angeles Police Department station early this month, wounding an officer, died Thursday, officials said.

Daniel Christoph Yealu, who was charged with two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, had been hospitalized in critical condition after being wounded when police returned fire in the April 7 attack.

LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith confirmed Yealu’s death. The cause of death was not immediately available.

Authorities allege Yealu walked into the Venice Boulevard station about 8:30 p.m. on that Monday, approached the front desk and fired a Glock pistol at the two officers there. One of the officers was wounded before the pair returned fire.

Four rounds hit the officer and three hit his extremities, but he was expected to recover. At a news conference after the shooting, Police Chief Charlie Beck said the officer was “very, very lucky” and, by returning fire, saved his partner’s life.

Officials said Yealu was carrying extra magazines and had a “heavily modified” AK-47 in his car parked outside. Authorities later found what Beck described as an “armament” of high-powered weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at Yealu’s home.

Yealu had also faced gun allegations in connection with the attack. If convicted of all the charges, he faced 75 years to life in state prison, prosecutors said. Still hospitalized, Yealu had yet to enter a plea.

Investigators had been trying to determine what prompted the attack, saying only that before he began shooting, Yealu told the officers he had a complaint.

Yealu’s father said in an interview with The Times that he learned of the allegations against his son when detectives showed up at his door the next morning. He said that although he didn’t talk to his son often — the pair last spoke by phone in October — he noticed no warning signs.

[For the Record, 1:09 p.m. PDT, April 25: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated the officer was hit in his ballistic vest; he was not wearing a vest at the time, police said.]

richard.winton@latimes.com

Twitter: @LAcrimes

Man suspected of opening fire at LAPD station, wounding officer dies

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