A fatal officer-involved shooting occurred Thursday at a convenience store when a domestic violence suspect allegedly lunged toward Bell police with a knife when they arrived to investigate reports that a woman had been assaulted, sheriff’s officials said.
No law enforcement officers were injured in the shooting, which occurred in the 7100 block of South Atlantic Avenue, according to Deputy Guillermina Saldana of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Paramedics took the 36-year-old suspect to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Saldana said.
“Homicide detectives have learned that Bell Police Department personnel and East Los Angeles Station (sheriff’s) personnel received 911 calls regarding a domestic dispute at a local convenience store,” Saldana said.
Bell Police Department officers were dispatched to the location, along with one deputy.
“When Bell police officers arrived, they encountered a man armed with a knife,” Saldana said. “The man refused to comply with the officers’ verbal commands. He advanced toward the officers with the knife and an officer- involved shooting occurred.”
The man had argued with and assaulted a woman, who had a child with her, at a Jack in the Box restaurant in the 4500 block of Florence Avenue and then walked next door to a convenience store, where the dispute continued, according to Saldana.
“That is when the 911 calls were made,” the deputy said.
The dead man’s name was withheld pending notification of his next-of-kin.
“The relationship between the victim and the suspect is unknown at this time,” Saldana said.
–City News Service