An investigation continued Monday into the death of a knife-wielding man in his 30s who ran into a Cerritos restaurant and was fatally shot by a customer with a concealed carry permit who ordered him to drop the weapon.
The situation began to unfold about 2:10 p.m. Sunday when the man with a knife entered Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que in the 11300 block of South Street and ran through the kitchen and service areas frightening customers and staff, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
A lawfully armed customer confronted the man and ordered him to drop the knife, sheriff’s officials said. The man charged toward the customer with the knife, and the customer shot him.
Arriving deputies found the knife-wielding man suffering from what appeared to be lacerations and a gunshot wound, officials said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man was in his 30s, but his name was withheld pending notification of his next of kin, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office.
The customer remained at the scene and was cooperating with Homicide unit detectives in the ongoing investigation, officials said.
Anyone with information was asked to call sheriff’s detectives at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.