The Los Angeles Police Department Thursday announced the name of the officer who shot at an 18-year-old man after he approached police while armed in Boyle Heights.
Gabriel Gomez was not injured in the shooting, which occurred around 10:15 p.m. Sunday in area of First and Vicente Fernandez streets, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
According to the LAPD, officers patrolling in the area spotted an unoccupied pickup in the middle of the street with its doors open.
“As the officers began to investigate, they heard gunfire in the area of Mariachi Plaza, west of their location,” police said in a statement.
The officers exited their patrol vehicle and walked toward the plaza, then saw two male suspects running toward them, with one of them — Gomez — carrying a gun, police said.
Officers ordered Gomez to the ground, but he kept running toward the officers, prompting at least one officer to open fire, according to the LAPD.
Police announced Thursday that Officer II Lucero Chavez opened fire on Gomez.
“Gomez was not struck by gunfire and immediately fled west through the plaza on foot. The officers gave chase and located Gomez approximately one block away, where he was taken into custody without further incident,” police said.
When officers returned to their original location, the pickup and the second suspect were both gone, police said. However, officers recovered a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic Polymer 80 “ghost gun” — a weapon with no traceable serial numbers — at the scene. A spent shell casing was also recovered from the area where Gomez had been seen running from, according to the LAPD.
Gomez was booked early Monday morning on suspicion of shooting at an inhabited dwelling. He was being held in lieu of $525,000 bail, according to jail records.
No officers were injured.