Update On Colorado Blvd. Gunfight

More details have emerged about the gunfight on Colorado Blvd. yesterday night. It turns out that the suspect had killed someone a few hours earlier just a few miles away, on Avenue 51 near Occidental. Good work, Glendale PD.

From the Glendale News-Press:

GLENDALE — A Glendale police officer was released from the hospital Tuesday after he was shot in the chest during a gun battle the previous night that left the alleged shooter dead.

Los Angeles resident and known gang member David Gonzales, 28, died of multiple gunshot wounds after he opened fire on police, leading them on a foot chase near South Adams and East Colorado streets, Glendale Police Officer John Balian said.

The shootout started at about 9:30 p.m. when an officer tried to question Gonzales as he was walking in a commercial area, Balian said.

“He makes eye contact with the officer and starts to run. . . . The next thing [the officer] knows is that he’s being shot at,” Balian said.

That officer, who was not hit, called for backup as he chased Gonzales from Adams to Elk Avenue, Balian said. When two other officers arrived, Gonzales was hiding in some bushes and fired at the officers as they stepped out of their patrol cars, he said. One of the officers, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was hit in the chest. “If he didn’t have a vest on, he would have been killed,” Balian said.

Officers continued to chase Gonzales, who kept firing shots and took aim at a patrol car that was blocking his path, Balian said.

An officer got out of his car and fired at Gonzales, hitting him several times. Gonzales died on the 300 block of South Chevy Chase Drive, Balian said.

A .45-caliber handgun was recovered at the scene, Assistant Police Chief Ronald DePompa said.

After the shooting, the Glendale Police Department was contacted by officials at the Los Angeles Police Department with information that Gonzales was the prime suspect in a homicide that occurred in northeast Los Angeles, two to three hours before the incident in Glendale, Balian said.

Gonzales — who had been released two weeks ago from state prison on parole for second-degree murder — had apparently just been dropped off in Glendale before he was approached by police, who did not know he was a suspect in the Los Angeles homicide, Balian said.

“[Gonzales] was trying to do everything he could to get away from police,” he said.

Shell casings found at the Los Angeles crime scene matched the casings found in Glendale, he said.

“They feel very confidant that David Gonzales was their suspect in their murder investigation,” Balian said.

Updated L.A. Times article here.

Glendale remains a remarkably safe city, despite being very close to serious gang territory, as we saw during the recent shootings in Glassell Park. However, violent crime in our fair city is unfortunately up slightly from last year.

Keep your eyes open, and if you see anything dodgy call Glendale PD: 818-548-4911.