George Rose/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — A Trader Joe’s grocery store in Los Angeles that was the site of a deadly shootout and hostage crisis nearly two weeks ago reopened to the public Thursday morning.
On a sunny afternoon 12 days ago, an armed man stormed into Trader Joe’s in the eastside neighborhood of Silver Lake and took hostages while exchanging gunfire with police. The store’s manager, 27-year-old Melyda Corado, was killed in the crossfire.
Trader Joe’s said in a statement Thursday that it remains “heartbroken” over Corado’s death and the “trauma” its other employees there have suffered. The grocery store chain said it made “some renovations” to its Silver Lake location while giving those who work there time to grieve.
The store reopened its doors at 8 a.m. local time, returning to its normal hours.
“While we move forward, we will never forget,” the company’s statement read in part. “And we remain forever grateful for the incredible outpouring of support from customers and crew members across the country.”
The hourslong standoff and shootout at the Trader Joe’s on July 21 was the culmination of a crime spree that began earlier in the day, police said. The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Gene Atkins, allegedly shot and wounded his grandmother and a teenage girl elsewhere in Los Angeles earlier that day, before allegedly kidnapping the injured teen and leading police on a 15-minute car chase, police said.
Atkins faces a number of charges for the alleged crime spree, including murder and attempted murder.
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