An armed gunman led police on a wild pursuit through Los Angeles on Monday night, carjacking a woman and crashing into five vehicles before he was shot.
The entire rush-hour police chase was captured live by TV cameras and motorists in the Montebello area of L.A. were warned to steer clear of the runaway driver who was described as armed and dangerous.
The shot man was alive in hospital but his condition was unknown later on Monday.
The chase began at about 5.15pm just east of downtown Los Angeles following reports of a stolen vehicle.
As patrol cars followed – sometimes against the traffic – in the busy evening commute, the man crashed his car and ran onto Imperial Highway, where he pulled out a gun and carjacked a silver gray VW, ordering out the terrified woman driver.
At least eight police cars followed onto the 105 and then the 710 freeways with helicopters tracking their every move overhead.
As the car drove off onto the eastbound 60 freeway it was hemmed in by traffic and the man jumped out and tried in vain to carjack another two vehicles. Officers followed on foot and opened fire, apparently hitting him in the chest.
The 30-minute chase resulted in at least five separate collisions, LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera told Los Angeles Times.