Deputy Kills Man Aiming Pellet Gun
A Los Angeles County deputy working in an anti-gang unit shot and killed a man who drew a pellet pistol on the officer and his partner in the Walnut Park area, authorities said Saturday.
Michael Charles Edwards, 35, of Los Angeles was pronounced dead at the scene Friday night, Sheriff’s Sgt. Ernie Roop said. Sheriff’s officials said Edwards was a suspected gang member, but would not elaborate.
The two deputies, members of the Gang Enforcement Team at the Sheriff’s Department Firestone Station, spotted Edwards and two other men walking near Compton Avenue and 88th Street about 10 p.m. The deputies decided to stop their unmarked car and talk to the men “about gang activities in the area,” Roop said.
As the deputies got out of their car, Edwards crouched and pulled a pellet pistol from his waistband and pointed it at the deputies, officials said. Roop said the pellet gun “closely resembled” a semiautomatic weapon. The deputy who was riding in the passenger side of the car “was able to draw his weapon and fire before the suspect did,” Roop added.
The two other men fled and are being sought by investigators, Roop said.
Edwards was hit in the upper torso. Officials did not disclose the number of shots fired. They also withheld the names of the deputies.
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