Carjacking suspect stole 2 vehicles before being shot, sources say

An armed carjacking suspect stole two vehicles before leading officers on a dramatic chase through the streets of Los Angeles that ended Thursday night in a barrage of police bullets that left the man dead in Koreatown.

Live television footage showed the man driving on the 101 Freeway, rolling past people on bustling Hollywood Boulevard and pulling his vehicle into a gas station on Wilshire Boulevard, where at least one officer fired multiple shots into the vehicle as a bystander ducked for cover near an adjacent vehicle.

A revolver was found inside the older-model Saturn, said Los Angeles Police Department sources familiar with the incident. They said that officers believed the man was pointing the weapon at people inside a convenience store.

Late Thursday, the man's body lay covered under a sheet at the station as detectives interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence.

The man allegedly stole a car from a woman in San Bernardino shortly before 3:30 p.m., said the LAPD sources, who asked not to be named because the investigation had just been launched.

The man drove to North Valley Boulevard and Eastern Avenue in El Sereno, where he dumped the vehicle and stole the Saturn from a  65-year-old man, according to the sources.

With LAPD officers in pursuit and TV news helicopters overhead, the man led officers on a slow chase across city streets. It ended shortly after 7:30 p.m.

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-- Andrew Blankstein (twitter.com/anblanx) and Robert J. Lopez (twitter.com/LAJourno)

Photo: The carjacking suspect's body is under a tarp at the shooting scene. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times