Gunman Kills Man, Is Shot by Officers

A man who fired into a Skid Row crowd, killing one person and wounding two others, was shot and wounded by a Los Angeles police officer Thursday evening, authorities said.

Officers assigned to the Metropolitan Division heard gunshots at 6:15 p.m., said Lt. William Hall, who heads the department’s officer-involved shooting investigations.

The officers saw two people fall to the pavement near 5th and San Julian streets, Hall said. They then saw a man with a gun chasing another man down 5th Street, the lieutenant said. The man being chased was fatally wounded by the gunman, investigators said.

Officers chased the gunman and ordered him to stop, Hall said. The man reached for a .45-caliber pistol in his waistband as the officers approached, Hall said.

One officer fired and wounded the suspect in the buttocks, the lieutenant said. The man was arrested and taken to Los Angeles Count-USC Medical Center where he was in good condition, police said.

Hall said an argument apparently led to the shooting. In addition to the man shot to death, a woman was wounded by a gunshot to the ankle and a man was shot in the groin. None of the victims were identified.

No officers were injured.

Peter Marcus, 37, said he heard “a big argument” that attracted a crowd of 15 or 20 people. “And then I heard the shooting,” he said. “I saw this man chasing a guy who was clutching a bunch of money. After the guy was shot and fell down, people in the crowd started trying to grab the money out of his hands and go through his pockets before the police came.”

Hall said he did not know the motive for the shootings, but said he was “confident that the man the officer shot is indeed the man who shot and killed the victim.”