Family Of Teen Shot, Killed By LASD In Gardena Dispute Claim He Was Armed
GARDENA (CBSLA) -- A Los Angeles area family is disputing statements from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department following the LASD's deadly shooting of 18-year-old Andres Guardado.
The family says Guardado did not have a gun, despite official statements from LASD that they recovered an unregistered loaded 40-caliber semi-automatic pistol from the scene with a prohibited extended magazine.
"It was not his gun, you all framed him. Someone else did or you all did," said Guardado's sister Jennifer.
LASD Sheriff Alex Villanueva warned the public not to rely on social media when it comes to the investigation, saying it "drives the conspiracy cycle."
An LASD deputy fired six rounds at Guardado on Thursday, killing him at the scene, after the teen allegedly flashed a weapon and then tried to flee from deputies.
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According to the LASD, patrolling deputies said they saw Guardado outside an auto shop in the area of 400 block of Redondo Beach Boulevard, near South Figueroa Street, at about 5:53 p.m. on Thursday. After a short foot chase, a deputy fired at Guardado, striking him in the upper torso.
Guardado's family and the shop owner told CBSLA that the 18-year-old was working as a security guard for the shop at the time.
Authorities said in a news conference on Saturday that Guardado was not at the legal age of 21 to be performing those duties, was not wearing a security uniform at the time and did not have a record of a security license on file.
Detectives are still working to collect video footage near the scene at the time of the incident, LASD said.
An autopsy will be performed by the medical examiner in the coming days and will be published by the coroner's office.
Villanueva said he continues to push for body-worn cameras in the LASD to provide more transparency.
The investigation into Guardado's shooting remains ongoing and is still in its early stages.
