Inmate Fatally Shot By Deputy In Inglewood Emergency Room
INGLEWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A suspect was fatally shot Thursday morning by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy in the emergency room of a South Los Angeles hospital, officials said.
The deputy-involved shooting happened around 1:10 a.m. at Centinela Hospital Medical Center, 555 E. Hardy Street, in Inglewood.
According to investigators, the male suspect, who had been arrested Wednesday afternoon for possession of a controlled substance, had been taken to the hospital for unknown medical treatment.
He was accompanied by two deputies, with one hand cuffed to a gurney, when the shooting occurred in the hospital's triage room.
"During his stay here, he attempted to grab one of the deputy's firearms and gain control of it and a deputy-involved shooting occurred," Lt. Holly Francisco said.
"They called us in the back in triage, and the next thing you know, it was a real loud 'Bang!' . . . One of the nurses came out and told us to get behind the wall," a witness identified only as Shanida said.
Witnesses say 15 to 20 people were in the emergency room when the shooting occurred.
The unidentified suspect died at the hospital. No one else was injured.
Sheriff's homicide detectives and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office are investigating the incident.
The Centinela emergency room reopened for walk-in patients just after 5 a.m. Thursday.
