One person was rushed to a hospital with a stab wound as a potential suspect fled from police after being handcuffed during a chaotic scene in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday evening.
Police responded to reports of a stabbing near the intersection of 7th and Flower streets in downtown L.A. around 5:40 p.m., according to Officer Melissa Podany, an LAPD spokeswoman.
The victim was “conscious and breathing” when taken to a hospital, according to Podany, who said investigators quickly made a request to shut down B Line trains, fearing suspects may have fled into the nearby 7th Street/Metro Center station.
Trains were not shut down, according to a spokesman for L.A. Metro, but an entrance to the station was shuttered for about 30 minutes. Police, meanwhile, sought to close an alley near Wilshire Boulevard and Lebanon Street while searching for suspects, Podany said.
Police radio traffic initially described as many as seven suspects, according to a law enforcement source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the “fluid situation.” At least one person who was handcuffed and detained as a person of interest managed to escape from officers, the source said.
It was unclear whether that person was believed to have committed the stabbing or whether they had been recaptured. Several people were in custody as of 8:30 p.m., but no one had been formally booked on suspicion of committing the assault, the source said.
KABC-TV Channel 7 also reported that a person who had been placed in handcuffs by LAPD escaped at the scene.