[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap] Los Angeles Police Officer fired the bullet that killed Silver Laker Trader Joe’s assistant store manager Melyda Corado Saturday in a brazen middle of the day shootout, Chief Mike Moore announced in a press conference Tuesday morning.
The LAPD also released an extended edit of the body-cam footage of police officers who were involved in the incident, in compliance with recent rules for more timely releases of major-incident evidence. Moore said Corado was one of several people who moved toward the store’s entrance after hearing bullets exchanged between Gene Atkins, who allegedly shot his 76-year-old grandmother, kidnapped a 17-year-old girl and shot at pursuing police officers using a semi-automatic weapon.
The pursuit ended when Atkins crashed his grandmother’s Toyota Camry into a telephone pole outside the Trader Joe’s, where he got off and made a run for the entrance while firing back at officers. Moore said the officers fired back at Atkins “in defense of their lives and to protect Atkins from harming other individuals.”
RELATED: Pasadena Quietly Settles with Family OF Man Killed by Police in 2016