"I just shot at a cop," the man with blood dripping from a bullet wound in his arm tells one of 40 people he has just taken hostage at a Los Angeles supermarket.
In a gripping account published Friday by the Los Angeles Times, one of those hostages describes how she and others survived the ordeal.
MaryLinda Moss says 28-year-old Gene Atkins began to open up after asking for help for his wounded arm.
Eventually she helped negotiate his surrender.
Authorities say Atkins stormed into a Trader Joe's while exchanging gunfire with police. A store manager struck by police bullets was killed.
Earlier, police say, Atkins wounded his grandmother.
After a three-hour standoff, Atkins, Moss and other hostages walked out together.
Moss says she promised Atkins she would visit him in prison.