Hawthorne shootout: Man charged with attempted murder of 4 police officers

HAWTHORNE, Calif. (KABC) -- A man accused of firing a rifle at Hawthorne police, wounding one officer, has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, officials said.

James Louis Boyd III of Oceanside was involved in a fight with his girlfriend at a Hawthorne hotel on April 7, officials say.

He allegedly fired shots from a rifle into the air, triggering a police response. When officers showed up, he shot at the patrol cars, breaking a window. He exchanged gunfire with the officers, wounding one in the leg.

Eventually, the officers were able to take the 37-year-old suspect into custody.

Boyd is now facing 10 felony counts: four counts of attempted murder and four counts of assault on a peace officer with a semiautomatic firearm, and one count each of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle and discharge of firearm with gross negligence.

The incident began about 9:20 a.m. that Sunday when officers responded to a report of a man chasing a woman in the lobby of a hotel in the 14400 block of South Aviation Boulevard.

The officers arrived to find the suspect running across the street and into a shopping center.

The officers confronted the man and twice exchanged gunfire with him, Hawthorne Police Chief Michael Ishii said.

A 15-year veteran of the Hawthorne Police Department was struck in the leg and transported to a hospital by Los Angeles County firefighter-paramedics.

If convicted on all charges, Boyd faces a possible maximum sentence of 100 years to life in state prison. Prosecutors are seeking $5 million bail.