A 29-year-old suspect who authorities say was allegedly suicidal and was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s deputies in East Los Angeles was identified Friday by county authorities.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office identified Erik Torres as the suspect who was shot after he fired a gun at them that turned out to only use blank rounds.
A watch sergeant with the LASD’s East Los Angeles station told City News Service the department received the initial call and responded to South Downey Road and Triggs Street at about 1:35 a.m. Wednesday. The suspect had called the station and said he was suicidal, according to the sergeant.
Torres emerged with a gun when deputies tried to make contact, compelling them to take cover. He retreated back into the home and deputies called for a SWAT-type response from the sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau and the sheriff’s Crisis Negotiation Team to facilitate a possible surrender.
Torres emerged a second time, this time firing the gun while pointing it at deputies, the sergeant said.
Deputies opened fire and Torres was struck and pronounced dead at the scene. The gun he wielded was recovered.
“Upon further investigation, the handgun was found to be a weapon that fired blanks,” according to a sheriff’s department statement.
No deputies or members of the public were injured.
The shooting will be investigated internally by the sheriff’s department and by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta also announced it would investigate the fatal shooting.
All of the probes are either standard practice or mandated by law.
“Following notification of this incident, (state) Department of Justice’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team initiated an investigation in accordance with AB 1506 mandates,” according to a statement from Bonta’s office. “Upon completion of the investigation, it will be turned over to DOJ’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review.”
Anyone with information regarding the shooting was asked to call 916-210-2871.