Suspect in Standoff Still in Medical Ward

Rafu Staff Report

The man who barricaded himself inside the Shinyodo gift store in Little Tokyo’s Japanese Village Plaza on the night of July 3 and morning of July 4 is still in the Los Angeles County Jail Medical Ward, according to a detective with the LAPD’s Central Division.

The 45-year-old man, whose name has not been made public, will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon for wielding a sword and threatening a security guard, who was not injured.

Everyone was evacuated from the store and the suspect, who had threatened to kill himself, remained barricaded inside for eight and a half hours until police flushed him out with tear gas.

The suspect has not been arraigned because his self-inflicted injuries are “too severe,” the detective said. His court appearance has been set for July 19. The case is being handled by the Force Investigation Division.