Would-be victim shoots 2 armed men who tried to rob him, video shows

Two robbery suspects had the tables turned on them when the man they tried to hold up at gunpoint pulled a firearm and shot them, Los Angeles police said.

Video released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows two men getting out of a light-colored Dodge Avenger in a parking lot near Melrose Avenue and Vista Street in the Fairfax District around 7:10 p.m. Monday.

The men are seen in the video approaching three people — a man and two women — who were gathered nearby. One of the would-be robbers points a handgun at the man in the group, who in turn draws his own handgun and shoots at the suspects. Everyone immediately scatters.

Two of the robbery suspects were found a short time later and arrested, according to an LAPD news release.

Nicholas Brown, 22, and Markeil Hayes, 28, both from Los Angeles, were found with gunshots they had sustained during the robbery attempt, police said. Brown had a gunshot wound to his upper left thigh, and Hayes had been shot in his right calf, LAPD officials said.

Detectives from the LAPD's Wilshire Division are searching for a third suspect, who was driving the Dodge.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. J. Maloney at (213) 922-8216.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.