LOS ANGELES—Five recent shootings by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers involved violent actions by armed suspects, a trend that the LAPD today characterized as being “consistent with the increase in violence we are experiencing in the city.” “The violent situations in these five [officer-involved shooting] incidents are unique given the number of hostage situations,” police said in a statement. “Four of the five incidents involved hostage situations where officers were thrust into evolving incidents where a hostage was in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. The other factor is the number of suspects experiencing a mental illness.” According to the LAPD, the number of homicides in the city has increased by 17 percent over 2020, and the number of victims suffering gunshot wounds increased by 19 percent when compared with 2020. As of Oct. 25, there have been 30 officer-involved shootings, and 33 percent of them involved …