POLICE SHOOT, KILL SUSPECT MAN WAS SOUGHT IN CONNECTION WITH ARMED ROBBERY.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer

GLENDALE - A Glendale police officer shot and killed a robbery suspect in Los Angeles early Wednesday, after the man tried to run over the officer with his car, officials said.

The suspect was one of three people who police say were involved in a violent attack last week at a Glendale supermarket, said Sgt. Rick Young. A woman making a bank deposit at the grocery store was robbed and shot four times before the gunman escaped in a sport-utility vehicle driven by another suspect.

Authorities refused to release the names of the officer or any of the suspects, saying the investigation is ongoing.

Glendale officers on Tuesday night drove to Temple City looking for suspects in the Jan. 27 robbery and shooting at Ralphs, 1416 E. Colorado St. The officers arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder, Young said. They believe he is the person who followed the 26-year-old Alhambra woman from her business to the Glendale Ralphs.

The woman was headed into the grocery store about 4:30 p.m. when a gunman grabbed her and her purse before firing four bullets into her pelvis, hand and leg, Young said. She is still recovering after surgery.

While one team of investigators made the arrest in Temple City on Tuesday night, another team searched for additional suspects in Boyle Heights, Young said. One officer was walking in a long, narrow alley between Wabash Avenue and Folsom Street when two suspects in a car sped toward him, he said.

The officer, fearing for his life, fired several times at the car and hit the driver, police said. The driver was pronounced dead at County/USC Medical Center just before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The passenger's shoulder was injured during the shooting and she was treated at County/USC. Police later arrested her on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery, alleging she played a part in the Jan. 27 attack.

Both suspects are being held at Glendale City Jail.

``The person arrested in Temple City appears to be the shooter in last week's vicious attack and robbery,'' Young said. ``The deceased driver of the vehicle on Tuesday appears to be the driver from the robbery, and the woman we also believe was a participant in the original robbery.''

All three suspects had warrants out for their arrest in connection with the Jan. 27 robbery, and police had gone into Los Angeles looking for them and planning to search their homes, Young said.

As is routinely done, Glendale police will conduct an investigation of the officer-involved shooting.

According to department statistics, in the past 30 years, 23 Glendale officers have fired at suspects, Young said. On the average, one out of 20 officers during a 20-year career will fire his or her weapon at a suspect, he said.