LOCAL : Distraught Sylmar Man Slays Self Despite Pleas of Police Officers

A man walked into the middle of a Granada Hills street and shot himself to death in front of two police officers this morning, authorities said.

Joe Zuniga, 20, of Sylmar, who was apparently distraught over the breakup of a relationship, fatally shot himself while standing in the 15500 block of Rinaldi Street despite pleas from the two officers to drop the weapon, Los Angeles police said.

The officers were called by passers-by who reported a man with a gun, Sgt. Paul Haberman said.

“When they got there they were confronted by a man who got out of a car with a gun in his hand,” Haberman said. “He asked the officers to kill him. The officers just took cover.”

Police said the officers told Zuniga to drop the gun but he walked into the middle of the street, fired one shot into the air and then one into his chest. He died at the scene. A woman who was in the car with Zuniga was unhurt.