2 security guards shot by shoplifting suspect in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — Two security guards were shot and wounded in a downtown Los Angeles shopping area after confronting a man who wanted to walk out of a store with a suitcase of items he had not paid for, police said Tuesday.

The guards confronted the man, shots were fired and the man fled on a bicycle, Los Angeles Police Officer Drake Madison said. Both guards were in stable condition Tuesday morning, Madison said. The suspect has not been arrested.

The shooting ends a year of California voters voting showed their frustration with shoplifting and other crimes, while the perception is that this is allowed to happen unchecked. A ballot measure that made shoplifting a misdemeanor for repeat offenders passed easily, reversing a law passed by voters a decade ago that downgraded theft of less than $950 to a misdemeanor. A lack of local data makes it difficult to quantify how bad the problem is, but viral videos earlier this year showed hordes of people rushing into large stores and shoplifting en masse. Voters also ousted several progressive prosecutors.

Judith Conway told it KABC TV she was in a Target store in the FIGat7th outdoor shopping center when shots rang out, sending shoppers running through the aisles, screaming and crying.

“We heard several rounds go off, and we pretty much ran to the back and just left our stuff in the cart, and just tried to do our best to get to safety,” Conway said.

No other store owners were injured.