Local News in Brief : Man Slain Outside Church Is Identified

Los Angeles police on Wednesday identified an armed man shot to death by officers outside a Sun Valley church as a Mid-Wilshire-area resident who earlier had been involved in a domestic dispute.

Francisco Perez, 39, was killed when he pointed a gun at two off-duty officers Sunday on a street behind the Grace Community Church in the 13200 block of Roscoe Boulevard, authorities said.

The officers had been attending an evening service at the church and left to investigate reports from other churchgoers that there was a man outside with a gun in his waistband, police said.

Lt. William Hall, of the Officer Involved Shooting Squad investigating the death, said toxicological tests to determine if Perez was using drugs at the time of the shooting would not be completed until later this month.

However, Hall said, investigators learned that earlier Sunday Perez had been involved in a domestic dispute with a woman he lived with. He had forced the woman and a young child into his car, which he drove to the San Fernando Valley, Hall said.

Hall said the woman and child managed to escape from Perez in the Sun Valley area, but it was unclear why he was loitering on the street near the church. Perez is not a member of the church, Hall said.