Utilizing officer’s body-camera footage, in-car video footage and audio recordings, Pasadena Police Department officials have released a new overview of last November’s shootout with a man who killed a local senior, setting off a crime spree that ended in a fatal shootout with police.
The recently released briefing provides a deeper look at the harrowing 15-minute incident that spanned a two-block area. The investigation of the deadly incident resulted in four different crime scenes and tied up a shocked neighborhood for hours.
Police say the suspect, 24-year-old Devin Edward Hall, a military veteran and a resident of Inglewood, carjacked a driver and took a woman hostage on Tuesday, Nov. 23. The incident began after Pasadena Police Department received several calls to 9-1-1 regarding a shooting that had just occurred in the area of Sunnyslope Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard.
PPD’s investigation into the incident is ongoing, and it is expected that additional details could be revealed as the investigation continues, department leaders said.
California law, however, requires that law enforcement agencies make available, within 45 days, video and audio recordings of critical incidents resulting in great bodily injury, so a Critical Incident Briefing video is now available to the public online.
The narrative
The initial “shots fired” calls received by Pasadena Police Department reported a gunshot victim in front of a home on N. Sunnyslope Avenue.
“The victim was a 70-year-old male,” the video states, “and despite life-saving efforts by a good Samaritan and officers, the victim succumbed to the injuries he sustained.”
Cellphone video from a passing motorist captured a portion of the shooting, and the elderly victim, previously identified as Gevork Minissian, died at a hospital less than an hour after the afternoon shooting, according to officials.
“Immediately after the suspect shot the 70-year-old male, the perpetrator turned his firearm to an approaching vehicle traveling southbound on Sunnyslope Avenue from Orange Grove Boulevard,” the video states. “The female driver had stopped her vehicle when she saw the male victim laying on the ground.”
Facing a life threatening situation, the driver of the vehicle complied with Hall after he opened her car door and unlatched her seatbelt to force her out of the car and into the front passenger seat, according to department leaders. “She reported the suspect made his way back to the open driver’s door and she believed he was going to sit in the driver’s seat but he walked away instead.”
Later, when the first officer arrived at the scene, “he and a good Samaritan began providing emergency medical aid” to the elderly man, according to the video. “The second officer to arrive immediately initiated a search for the suspect,” and was directed by witnesses to the area of Hermana Street and Eaton Drive.
A resident who lives on the corner of Sunnyslope and Del Vina Street narrates this video. His daughter was inside doing homework on a piece of paper that resembles the shell casing markers in the road now. pic.twitter.com/XxHi2tUsQK
— Brennon Dixson (@TheBrennonD) November 24, 2021
Using the police vehicle’s PA system, the officer gave the male verbal commands to cooperate with officers, according to the narrator. “Instead, the suspect raised his firearm. And using the police department service rifle, the officer engaged in a gun battle with the suspect.”
Neither the officer nor the suspect were injured in this initial exchange of gunfire. After the assault, though, the suspect ran south and into the backyard of a resident in the 500 block of Eaton Drive, “where he climbed the property’s rear wall and entered the rear yard of a residence in the 500 block of Sunnyslope Avenue.”
The suspect fired two rounds from his firearm into the occupied house, shattering the rear sliding-glass door. A female resident began to scream and tried to escape through the front door, officials said.
“However, the suspect quickly entered the house and directed her to exit through a rear door,” according to the video. “He followed closely behind, moments before taking her hostage.”
Within just a few seconds of exiting the house, the video explains, several other officers arrived with the intent of taking the suspect into custody.
“While still behind her, the suspect grabbed ahold of the female resident’s shirt collar, pulling her toward him, wrapped his left arm across her chest, extended his hand holding the firearm over her right shoulder and fired several rounds at the officers.”
After pulling the hostage behind a vehicle parked in the driveway while he fired at officers, Hall stumbled.
“Both he and the hostage fell to the ground. This provided the victim an opportunity to escape … and officers began returning fire at the suspect,” the video states. “As the victim ran away, she told officers she looked back at the suspect and saw him place his firearm to his own head and take his own life.”
Detectives are awaiting the coroner’s report to determine if the evidence collected confirms the victim’s account, but they do already know Hall purchased the tactical pistol used during the incident after being discharged from the military in 2020.
“His family reports he routinely carried it with him,” the video states, explaining the weapon is typically used by military and law enforcement units.
Hall’s family described his behavior on the morning as abnormal and anxious, officials added.
“He spent the morning waving his gun around the family making comments about protecting his sisters,” according to the report. “Additionally, the family told detectives any incoming telephone call or text message would trigger their brother and, eventually, he forcibly removed all communication devices from his family members.”
Detectives have found no indication that there was any relationship between Hall and the elderly man killed .
“But their investigation,” according to officials, “into this matter continues.”