Officer Kills Attacker

An undercover narcotics officer shot and killed a suspected prowler who lunged at him with a bamboo sword and a pocketknife in South Los Angeles, authorities said Tuesday. The man, whose name was withheld until his family could be notified, was shot Monday evening, moments after he was tackled by two other men who had spotted him in the rear storage yard of a refrigerator repair shop, Police Lt. William Hall said. The incident began when an employee of the repair shop heard someone walking on the roof and two area residents began to chase the man, Hall said. The men were fighting when two undercover narcotics officers drove past in an unmarked car, Hall said. The two neighbors stopped fighting, he said, but the man jumped up and grabbed a bamboo sword--used in Japanese kendo martial arts--while also holding the small knife. He began slashing at Officer Charles Williams, 33, who then fired three shots, Hall said.