The 35-year-old man wounded by Los Angeles Police Department officers after firing shots in South Los Angeles at them was identified Monday.
Newton Gang Enforcement Detail uniformed officers responded Saturday near Avalon Boulevard and 42nd Place at approximately 10:50 p.m., where they observed Ismael Hernandez crossing the street while armed with a handgun, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Hernandez then fired two rounds at officers as they drove toward his direction, prompting the officers to return fire, wounding Hernandez, police said.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics arrived at the location to take Hernandez to a hospital following the shooting, where he remains in stable condition, police said.
Moments before the shooting, Hernandez was involved in a fight with a victim who was treated at the scene for a minor injury.
“Force Investigation Division investigators determined Hernandez had threatened that victim and fired a handgun in his presence at the onset of the incident,” according to the police department.
No officers sustained injuries during the exchange of gunfire.
Investigators recovered a blue steel Rossi .38 Special revolver at the scene as evidence, with the cylinder of the revolver containing five spent cartridge cases, police said.
The investigation of the shooting continued Monday night.
Police placed crime scene tape around the area of the shooting in an attempt to keep unauthorized people away. At about 3 a.m. Sunday a silver sedan going northbound on Avalon Boulevard drove through the crime scene tape and struck the command post, according to Officer Norma Eisenman of the LAPD’s Media Relations Division.
Several personnel were inside an LAPD vehicle at the scene, one of whom had complaints of pain and was taken to a hospital.
The driver of the sedan remained at the scene and cooperated with police. It was not immediately known if the motorist was cited or arrested, said Eisenman, who added that neither alcohol nor drugs appeared to be factors in the crash.