A dramatic chase and subsequent shootout within a Los Angeles shipping facility last Thursday afternoon led to the hospitalization of a 32-year-old man after being struck by police gunfire, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. Mario Alvarenga, the man identified as the suspect, was involved in an Officer-Involved Shooting following a pursuit by LAPD officers that stemmed from a vehicle reported stolen earlier the same day.
The incident began when Olympic Division cops ran a routine want/warrant check on a white Dodge pickup with Alvarenga at the wheel only to find the truck had been reported stolen, and a gun was left inside, according to a LAPD Newsroom release. Alvarenga did not comply when officers attempted a stop, instead gunning the engine and leading cops on a chase that ended with his truck ramming into a parked vehicle at 12th and Paloma Streets.
Fleeing on foot into a busy shipping facility on East Pico Boulevard, Alvarenga confronted pursuing officers with a handgun drawn from his clothes, which escalated into gunfire. The LAPD reports Alvarenga was the only person injured during the fray, with no other officers or civilians harmed in the commotion. He is now in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.
At the scene, officers recovered a Sig Sauer, Model P365ss 9mm handgun—which was later determined to be the one reported inside the stolen vehicle—and the investigation confirmed that the firearm was not loaded despite Alvarenga racking the slide in a threatening manner. The gun's 12-round magazine was found empty. The LAPD has since launched a full investigation into the incident with the Force Investigation Division taking the helm, administering interviews, and overseeing evidence collection, details of which will eventually make their way through the LAPD chain of command for review.
