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The Latest: Man was feuding with grandmother before standoff

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LOS ANGELES — The Latest on a man who took customers and employees hostage at a Trader Joe’s in Los Angeles (all times local):

2:55 p.m.

A feud between a man and his grandmother over his girlfriend exploded into violence that ultimately led to him taking hostages inside a Los Angeles supermarket.

Charlene Egland told The Associated Press Sunday that her cousin, Gene Evin Atkins, had been fighting with his grandmother over his girlfriend living in her home for several weeks before Saturday’s shooting.

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Authorities say Atkins shot his grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Madison, seven times and wounded his girlfriend.

Egland says Madison asked Atkins to turn off the television before she heard a series of gunshots at the family’s South Los Angeles home.

Police said Atkins stole his grandmother’s car and led officers on a pursuit before crashing in front of a Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake.

He then ran into the store and took hostages during a three-hour standoff.

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12:30 p.m.

Trader Joe’s says a Los Angeles store where a gunman held hostages during a three-hour standoff and an employee died will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Company spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniels said in a statement Sunday that Trader Joe’s wants to give their employees “time to process yesterday’s events.”

Employee Melyda Corado was killed Saturday when 28-year-old Gene Evin Atkins, who was being chased by police, fled into the supermarket and took hostages.

Friend-Daniel says Saturday was the “saddest day in Trader Joe’s history.”

She says the company’s thoughts are with Corado’s family, other employees and customers who “experienced this terrifying and unimaginable ordeal.”

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Police suspect Atkins shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman before leading officers on the pursuit.

He was booked Sunday on suspicion of murder.

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11:20 a.m.

Coroner’s officials have identified a woman who was fatally shot when a gunman being chased by Los Angeles police fled into a supermarket and took hostages.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office identified the woman Sunday as 27-year-old Melyda Corado. An autopsy is still pending.

Corado’s brother, Albert Corado, said on Twitter that his sister was “my world.”

Police say 28-year-old Gene Evin Atkins took hostages during a three-hour standoff at a Trader Joe’s in the city’s Silver Lake neighbourhood on Saturday.

Authorities say earlier in the day Atkins shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman, who he forced into a car. He then fled with officers pursuing him through the city, exchanging gunfire.

Atkins was booked Sunday on suspicion of murder and being held on $2 million bail.

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10:05 a.m.

Police say a gunman who took hostages inside a Los Angeles supermarket has been booked on suspicion of murder.

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Officer Drake Madison, a police spokesman, says 28-year-old Gene Evin Atkins was booked Sunday and being held on $2 million bail.

Atkins surrendered after a three-hour standoff at a Trader Joe’s in the city’s Silver Lake neighbourhood on Saturday.

Authorities say earlier Saturday he shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman, who he forced into a car. He then fled with officers pursuing him through the city, exchanging gunfire.

The chase ended with Atkins crashing the car outside the store and heading inside.

One woman was shot and killed.

On Saturday, authorities said Atkins’ grandmother was hospitalized in critical condition. Police had no update on her condition.

A message left at a number listed for Atkins wasn’t immediately returned.

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5:45 a.m.

Police say they’re trying to determine what prompted a man to shoot his grandmother and then run into a busy Los Angeles supermarket and hold dozens of people hostage for hours.

A woman was shot and killed when the gunman ran into the Trader Joe’s supermarket in the city’s Silver Lake section on Saturday, but no hostages were seriously hurt before he handcuffed himself and surrendered to police. The grandmother was hospitalized in critical condition on Sunday.

Police say the man shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman, who he forced into a car. They say they chased the car and exchanged gunfire with the man, who crashed into a pole outside the supermarket and then ran inside.

Frightened customers and workers dove for cover as police bullets fired at the man shattered the store’s glass doors.

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