A 28-year-old man was charged with more than 30 felonies on July 24 for allegedly shooting his grandmother and girlfriend before leading police on a vehicle pursuit from Hollywood to Silver Lake that ended with a shootout and stand-off with authorities at a Trader Joe’s supermarket that left an employee dead.

People have left candles, flowers and notes at a memorial for store manager Melyda Corado outside the Trader Joe’s supermarket. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore acknowledged Tuesday that the store manager, Melyda Corado, was killed by a bullet fired by one of the police officers during the July 21 shootout.

Gene Evin Atkins was taken into custody after the standoff at the supermarket in the 2700 block of Hyperion Avenue. He was charged with one count each of murder, kidnapping, fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly, grand theft auto, driving or taking a vehicle without consent, discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle and assault with a firearm. He is also charged with two counts of attempted murder, four counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, four counts of assault on a peace officer with a semiautomatic firearm and 13 counts of false imprisonment of a hostage.

The criminal complaint additionally includes allegations of gun use and causing great bodily injury and death. Atkins is being charged for murdering Corado because his actions allegedly led to the officer-involved shooting.

“Sadly … 27-year-old Melyda Corado was struck by gunfire when Gene Atkins crashed into a light pole and ran toward the front door,” Moore said. “It is now determined that one of the officers’ rounds struck Ms. Corado when she was in close proximity to the officers. Tragically, Ms. Corado died of the gunshot wound she sustained.”

The shooting and the events leading up to it remain under investigation. The Los Angeles Police Department did not release the names of the officers involved in the shooting. Moore said the officers were justified in shooting at Atkins because of the public danger he presented.

It is standard protocol for officers to be taken off active duty following shootings, said LAPD spokesman Carlos Zaragoza, but he could not confirm the status of the two officers, who were from Hollywood Division. The LAPD’s Force Investigation Division, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Inspector General are overseeing independent investigations into the shooting.

Atkins is accused of shooting his grandmother multiple times in an apartment they shared in South Los Angeles before fleeing in his grandmother’s vehicle with his girlfriend, who he also shot. The grandmother and girlfriend are expected to survive.

Officers from the LAPD’s Newton Division were investigating the shootings in South Los Angeles when officers from the Hollywood Division located Atkins in the stolen vehicle near Sunset and Cahuenga boulevards using a vehicle-tracking device. Atkins sped off and led the officers on a pursuit through east Hollywood and Silver Lake. Dash camera video from the police car was released showing Atkins shot at police through the rear window during the pursuit. He crashed in front of the Trader Joe’s and got out of the vehicle and fired at officers, who returned fire. Corado was struck during the exchange.

Moore also released body camera video from the two primary officers involved in the pursuit and shooting. Atkins was wounded by the police gunfire, but fled inside the store and took approximately 40 hostages. He surrendered hours later after negotiations with an LAPD SWAT team.

Six people from the store were taken to hospitals and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Atkins remains in custody on $18.7 million bail.