A Los Angeles man was arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly shot a law enforcement official and took two people hostage in Southern California.
45-year-old Christopher Warsaw is currently being held at South Los Angeles Station on $1 million bail, according to the LA County Sheriff's Deputy Guillermina Saldana, who spoke with the Associated Press on Thursday.
Warsaw reportedly engaged in a nine-hour skirmish with police, after officers arrived in response to a domestic disturbance call at about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Residents phoned officials when they saw a man dragging a woman into a house at the 10700 block of 5th Avenue in Inglewood, AP reported.
When police arrived at the door, Warsaw started shooting, leaving two officers injured.
"The officer that was actually shot was shot in the chest but was saved by his bullet proof vest," Inglewood Police Spokesperson Oscar Mejia said.
A female officer sustained injuries in the scuffle after she tumbled to the ground while coming to the aid of a fellow agent.
"The female officer began running back down the avenue," eyewitness Kimberly Edwards reported to ABC7. "She collapsed in front of us on 5th Avenue, and they slung her over the shoulder like a sack and took her out."
According to video footage caught by a neighbor, heavy gunfire was exchanged between police and the suspect. Police soon instructed residents living nearby to stay indoors. Warsaw, meanwhile, had boarded himself up inside the home with his girlfriend and 14-year-old daughter.
At around 9:30 p.m. hostage negotiators from the LA County Sheriff's department, along with mediators from the Inglewood Police Department, successfully convinced Warsaw to lay down his arms and emerge from the house with the two hostages.
All parties involved were not harmed.
Neighbor Esther Frazier was baking a Thanksgiving dessert when she heard shots outside.
"There were so many gunshots...it was like you were in a war zone," Frazier told the Los Angeles Times. "A shot came through the screen on my door."
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