A young man was killed in a deputy-involved shooting during a traffic stop in East Los Angeles, authorities said Friday.
The shooting occurred a little before 11 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of South Gerhart Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. No deputies were hurt.
Coroner’s officials withheld the name of the fatally wounded man, identified to KTLA5 by family members as 18-year-old Paul Rea.
“Anybody who knows Paul is going to be heartbroken over this,” his sister Jaylene Rea told the station.
Deputies had conducted a traffic stop just prior to the shooting, the sheriff’s department reported.
“During the traffic stop, a struggle ensued and the suspect, a passenger in the vehicle, was struck by gunfire,” according to an LASD statement. The man, wounded in the upper body, died at a hospital, the sheriff’s department reported.
A firearm was recovered at the scene of the shooting. Another occupant of the vehicle was detained, authorities said.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives asked anyone with information regarding the shooting to call them at 323-890-5500.