A 35-year-old man who was fatally shot by police during a confrontation in South Los Angeles was identified Thursday.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division responded at 10 p.m. Tuesday to a shots fired call at an apartment complex in the area of Ardmore Avenue and 11th Street in the Harvard Heights area.
According to police, the suspect, Ronald Gainer Jr., had been involved in a domestic violence confrontation with his girlfriend, who fled from the apartment. Gainer allegedly walked out of the apartment and fired a shot into the air and at an adjacent apartment building, which prompted the call to police.
While officers were responding, Gainer allegedly exited the apartment again, “armed with a firearm,” prompting police to open fire, according to the LAPD. Gainer was struck by the gunfire and went back into the apartment, police said.
Officers eventually entered the apartment, and paramedics took the suspect to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said a black steel Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, some empty magazines and discharged cartridge cases were recovered at the shooting scene. Another handgun, magazine and ammunition were found inside the apartment.
No other people or officers were injured in the gunfire.