Homicide suspect shot by LAPD in Atwater Village dies

A man who police say shot and killed a woman in Atwater Village before being shot by Los Angeles police died at a hospital overnight, officials said Thursday.

Coroner’s officials identified the man as Carlos Joseph Wilhelm, a 39-year-old Los Angeles resident. The woman killed inside her home was identified as Lorraine Gonzalez, 50.

LAPD Lt. John Jenal said investigators were still trying to pinpoint the connection between Wilhelm and Gonzalez, but said there were no indications that the shooting was a random attack.

Police and paramedics responded to Gonzalez’s home on Wednesday after gunshots were reported there about 12:20 p.m., Jenal said.

An officer in a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter hovering overhead spotted a man — later identified as Wilhelm — with a rifle in front of the house and alerted the responding officers, Jenal said. The officers then “tactically deployed” at the location so they could evaluate any potential threats from Wilhelm and figure out how to get inside the home to look for victims, he said.

“As they’re making their approach, the suspect engages the officers,” Jenal said, resulting in the shooting by police.

The officers then went inside the home and found Gonzalez, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wilhelm was taken to a hospital, where he died about midnight, a coroner’s spokesman said. Jenal said a rifle was found at the scene of the shooting.

It was the second fatal LAPD shooting in less than 24 hours of a man police say was armed with a gun. About 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, police shot and killed Florencio Chaidez, a 32-year-old Panorama City resident who police say had a handgun.

No officers were hurt in either shooting.

As with all LAPD shootings, the incidents will be reviewed by the department, the district attorney’s office and the Police Commission and its independent inspector general.

LAPD officers have shot 30 people this year, 16 of whom were killed.

kate.mather@latimes.com

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