Acorn reporter and daughter witness tense showdown with gunman

Man accused in abduction chased through Calabasas into Malibu



A man driving a car and carrying a weapon used in a reported abduction attempt was chased by law enforcement officers through Calabasas and into Malibu Wednesday evening, leading to a tense standoff that was witnessed by Acorn reporter Sylvie Belmond and her 20-year-old daughter, Teza.

The mother and daughter, both from Agoura Hills, along with about two dozen soccer players and others were enjoying a quiet evening at Malibu Bluffs Park when the man, about 30, ditched his car and began sprinting across the park, holding what appeared to be a handgun.

According to law enforcement, a pursuit of the man began in Chatsworth shortly before 7 p.m. when an off-duty FBI agent reportedly witnessed an attempted abduction at a commercial gym.

Shots were fired outside the gym at Nordhoff Street and Desoto Avenue followed by a high-speed chase that lead Los Angeles Police, Highway Patrol and Sheriff deputies on the 101 Freeway through the Valley and into Calabasas. Additional gunfire was reported at Valley Circle Drive near the freeway.

The man proceeded south on Las Virgenes Road, weaving through traffic and sometimes driving on the wrong side of the road as he headed toward Malibu. He sped into the Bluffs parking lot and fled on foot, trailed by a swarm of helicopters and police vehicles. At the park, Sylvie Belmond reported hearing a gunshot.

Wearing a black sweatshirt and shorts, the man ran across a field toward a hillside and tossed what appeared to be a gun into some bush.

A two-hour standoff followed before the suspect was finally apprehended.

Earlier, lying flat on the ground as the gunman ran by her just a few away, Teza Belmond feared for her life.

This is the young woman’s firsthand account of the incident: 

My three worries in life up to that moment were that I am slightly hungry, a little cold, and can’t quite master the guitar chord that I am trying to play.

To my right, two toddlers and their parents are enjoying a picnic. The sun is setting and the view of the ocean at Mailbu Bluffs Park is beautiful. Then we hear the helicopters. Police sirens fill the air, and when I turn my head I see a black car barreling into the park, trailed by five police cars.

A man leaps out of the vehicle, sprinting in my direction and I can only sit in stunned silence. A gunshot rings out and breaks me out of my paralysis, and my body reacts instantly to the potential danger.

I drop to the ground and lay flat, thoughts racing in my head. “He’s going to shoot me,” is my first thought.

Either I’m going to die or he’s going to take me hostage. I wonder where my mother is, wondered if she’s alright. 

From under a bench, trying to stay as still as possible, I can see the man heading in my direction. Across from me, a woman and her toddler crouch in the bushes, motionless like me and staring ahead. Our eyes meet. I wonder what she is thinking.

We don’t move. 

“I wonder if it will hurt when I am shot,” and then my mind goes still. Then I become calm, realizing all at once that if I am going to die, there is nothing I can do.

I stare at the grass in front of me as I wonder where the man has gone, how close he is to me, how many more seconds until I am gone from this earth.

Then my mother is there, screaming for me to get next to her. I drop my purse, scrambling under the bench to her side. We run across the field together as policemen sprint past us toward the fugitive, who has disappeared into the brush. I try not to cry.

Officers shout all around us, and the crowd of people who had been at the park now huddles together near the park office, but we are safe.

The gunman was taken into custody about 9 p.m. and transported to UCLA Hospital for the treatment of injuries.

According to reports, the woman he tried to kidnap was able to get out of her car near Ventura Boulevard and Woodlake Avenue in Woodland Hills and escape.

She was taken to a hospital and is expected to be OK. 

Authorities were still mopping up the crime scene at Malibu Bluffs Park early Thursday.

The name of the suspect has not yet been released.



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