Police Thursday continued to investigate a fatal New Year’s Eve shooting in Northridge in which a man who was allegedly firing shots with an assault rifle was killed by an off-duty ICE officer.
Officers responded at 11:37 p.m. Wednesday to reports of a man firing shots in the air at an apartment complex in the 17701 block of Roscoe Boulevard and Amestoy Avenue about one hour before the initial call, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The ICE officer, who has not yet been identified, responded to the shooting and exchanged gunfire with the shooter, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“On December, 31st, an off duty ICE Officer bravely responded to an active shooter situation at his apartment complex. In order to protect his life and that of others, he was forced to defensively use his weapon and exchanged gunfire with the shooter,” the statement said. “Fortunately, our brave officer was not injured while protecting his community.”
“It was like a lot of shots. It was more than 10 shots, it was a lot of shots, and we got scared, but I thought it was something like fireworks,” a woman who lives in the complex told Fox11.
The man shot by the ICE officer was pronounced dead at the scene.
The off-duty officer called the LAPD immediately to report the shooting, according to the statement. The LAPD was investigating the shooting, but did not identify the victim or provide further details.