Unarmed Man Wounded as Officer Fires at Suspect

An unarmed man was shot in the head Tuesday by a Los Angeles police officer firing at an alleged gang member who, police investigators said, pointed a gun at the officer.

Nikita Broadnix, 20, was in critical condition at Martin Luther King Jr. General Hospital, where he was rushed after the 1 a.m. shooting in South Los Angeles, a hospital spokesman said.

Lt. Charles A. Higbie, in charge of investigations of Police Department officer-involved shootings, said the incident took place in front of an apartment house at 641 W. 92nd St., the site of two gang-related drive-by shootings in as many nights.

Tenants in the building called police early Tuesday after seeing eight or nine young men standing at the rear of the complex and hearing the sound of breaking glass and gunshots, Higbie said.

When Officers Douglas R. Senecal, 37, and Christopher M. Giles, 22, approached a parking area in back of the complex, they saw five men standing beside a car, Higbie said.

One of them was armed with a handgun, which he pointed at Senecal when the 11-year police veteran identified himself, Higbie said.

Senecal fired at the armed man and, as he did, Broadnix “crouched and turned in the officer’s line of fire” and was struck in the forehead, Higbie said in a press release. The armed man was not hit by gunfire, police said.

There was no immediate indication whether Broadnix is a gang member.

Two juveniles--one 17 and the other 16--were taken into custody after the shooting but were released after questioning. A loaded handgun found in the parking area was identified by the juveniles as being “involved” in the shooting, Higbie said.

Two Other Incidents

The shooting followed two gang-related incidents at the apartment building.

On Sunday afternoon, Higbie said, three men were wounded by gunfire from a passing car while standing in front of the building. One was hospitalized in satisfactory condition.

On Monday night, two hours before the officer-involved shooting, occupants of a car fired gunshots at the building, but no one was injured.

In an unrelated incident Tuesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies shot a 69-year-old Los Angeles man who allegedly pointed a gun at them from his West 94th Street apartment. Willie A. Martin was in critical condition at Martin Luther King Jr. General Hospital. He suffered a gunshot wound to the arm and a grazing wound to the head, a hospital spokesman said.

The names of the deputies involved in the shooting were not released.