A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Los Angeles was killed Tuesday in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement on a freeway transition road in Paramount, a confrontation that left a California Highway Patrol officer injured.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 a.m. on the transition road from the westbound Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway to the northbound Long Beach (710) Freeway, according to the CHP. The transition road was closed after the shooting, snarling traffic in the area for much of the day.
Authorities said the suspect’s minivan was disabled on the side of the freeway transition road, and when officers arrived to investigate, the suspect armed himself and eventually got out of the vehicle holding a handgun. Fox11 video shows the suspect holding the weapon, then shooting toward officers, who returned fire.
The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s department, which was assisting in the investigation. Fox 11 reported that a CHP officer suffered a graze wound to the head and was seen walking in the area after the shooting before being treated at the scene.
Although early reports indicated only that the CHP was involved in the confrontation, the sheriff’s department released a statement early Tuesday afternoon describing the gunfire as “deputy-involved shooting.”
A sheriff’s spokeswoman told City News Service that while both agencies were involved in the shooting, the CHP was the lead agency in the investigation.
The Los Angeles Police Department later identified the suspect as Jesse Medrano, who allegedly shot three people during a confrontation Sunday in the 400 block of East 92nd Street. The shooting killed 61-year-old Ruben Marrufo, while two other people were injured, according to the LAPD.
Police said Medrano fled that shooting scene in a vehicle, which was found abandoned in Bell, officials said. After abandoning the first vehicle, Medrano allegedly carjacked a 1999 Toyota Sienna with the California license plate number 8WBJ565. That minivan appeared to be the one on the side of the freeway in Tuesday morning’s shooting, although authorities did not immediately confirm if it was the carjacked vehicle.
The entire 105 Freeway was briefly closed in both directions after the Tuesday shooting, creating a traffic nightmare in the region during the morning rush hour. The Garfield Avenue on-ramp to the northbound 710 Freeway was also closed due to the investigation.
Anyone with information about the incident was encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.