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Knife-Wielding Man Slain by Officer

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A Los Angeles police officer shot and killed a transient Thursday outside a Skid Row fast-food restaurant after an officer saw him slashing at another man with a knife, police said.

Dozens of people waiting for meals at a nearby South Los Angeles Street mission looked on during the attack.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Dec. 27, 1986 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday December 27, 1986 Home Edition Part 1 Page 2 Column 1 Metro Desk 2 inches; 65 words Type of Material: Correction
A story Friday about an officer-involved shooting in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles misidentified the victim of the shooting as Mark Vorhees. Vorhees was the victim of an attempted knife attack by a transient who was then shot by a Los Angeles police officer, according to Lt. Charles Higbie. The transient, who died at the scene, was unidentified, Higbie said, and Vorhees was uninjured. The incident happened Wednesday, not Thursday as the story stated.

According to Police Lt. Charles Higbie, Officer Brett A. Peters, 24, ordered Mark Vorhees, 28, to drop the knife, but Vorhees refused.

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He turned instead and raised his knife as if he were going to stab the officer, Higbie said, adding: “The officer, believing he was going to be stabbed, fired one round from his service revolver.”

Vorhees died at the scene.

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