Armed Man Shot, Killed By LAPD Officers Outside South LA Gas Station
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A man who may have been committing an armed robbery outside a gas station in South Los Angeles was shot and killed by police Wednesday night.
The shooting occurred near a 76 gas station at the intersection of South Figueroa and West 111th streets a little before 10 p.m.
According to Los Angeles police, the suspect approached four friends who were sitting in a car in the parking lot of the gas station and pointed a gun at them.
LAPD officers in a patrol car which happened to be passing by noticed the situation, approached the suspect and told him to drop the gun, police said.
He refused, and at some point officers opened fire on him, LAPD Det. Meghan Aguilar told CBSLA. The man died at the scene. His name was not immediately released. A gun was recovered.
Aguilar said the suspect did not fire at the officers, who were not hurt.
Investigators could not immediately confirm that the suspect was attempting a robbery.
"You know, it's still a little bit early to say what exactly the motive was," Aguilar said. "Obviously, that's going to be a part of interviewing the individuals, what was said. What we do know is that these officers tonight, were absolutely for those individuals, in the right place at the right time."
A small group of people who were upset about the shooting clashed with police early Thursday morning, but have since left.
Investigators are looking into whether security video from the gas station captured footage of the shooting. It's unclear how many officers shot at the suspect.
There was no word on whether the officers had body cameras on during the shooting. The LAPD is required to release any bodycam evidence of the shooting within 45 days.
Meanwhile, at around 4 a.m. Thursday, a man was shot by L.A. County Sheriff's deputies less than a mile away, in the area of 108th Street and Vermont Avenue in Westmont. His condition is unknown.
A little after midnight, a man was also shot and killed at a different South L.A. gas station about four miles north. The gunman in that shooting remains at large.
There was no word on whether any of these incidents are related.
