5 Freeway in Boyle Heights re-opened hours after police shooting forced closure

A stretch of the northbound 5 Freeway in Boyle Heights and Lincoln Heights was shut down for more than 10 hours Sunday morning after California Highway Patrol officers shot and killed a knife-wielding pedestrian on the freeway, officials said.

The CHP received a call at 11:50 p.m. Saturday about a person walking on the freeway, said CHP officer Elizabeth Kravig.

Officers arrived at the scene about 15 minutes later. The officers then shot the pedestrian, who died at the scene, a short time later, Kravig said.

CHP officer Saul Gomez told KTLA that a group of officers responded to the call and that they used a stun gun before the pedestrian was shot. He said the man was armed with a knife.

“He produced a knife and it was used in a manner where the officers felt they were in danger,” Gomez said. A knife was recovered from the scene.

It was not clear how many officers were involved in the shooting or how many shots were fired.

All northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway were closed between the 10 Freeway and Broadway until 11:15 a.m. Sunday, officials said. Two southbound lanes were also blocked off after the incident, but were reopened around 9 a.m.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla

UPDATES:

2:20 p.m.: This article was updated with new information about the reopening of the 5 freeway.

10:20 a.m.: This article was updated with additional comments from the California Highway Patrol.

This article was originally posted at 9:25 a.m.