Man Brandishing BB Gun Shot, Killed By Inglewood Police

INGLEWOOD (CBSLA) – A suspect armed with what turned out to be a BB gun was shot and killed by officers late Friday night outside Inglewood police headquarters.

The shooting occurred at about 11 p.m. near the police station and Inglewood City Hall, located at 1 West Manchester Blvd.

The incident began when at least two officers in a patrol vehicle came upon a suspect carrying what looked like a handgun.

"What we believe happened, is that he was pointing it (the BB gun) possibly at himself, and then turned towards the officers and pointed it at them," Inglewood police Lt. Oscar Mejia told CBS2.

At least one of the officers opened fire on the suspect, hitting him. He died at the scene.

"The officers were in their vehicle at the time and then had to exit to seek cover," Mejia said. "And then they took the action that was necessary in order to put an end to this."

The suspect was in fact carrying a BB/pellet gun which was designed to look like a .44-caiber Super Magnum handgun, police said. A photo of the gun was released.

The identity of the victim was not disclosed. Police did not confirm if the suspect opened fire on the officers.

The incident was recorded on video, police said. It is unclear if the captured video consisted of officer body cameras and/or dash cameras.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is investigating, as is customary in officer-involved shootings.