Off-Duty Police Kill Man, Say He Fired at Crowd

Three off-duty police officers working as security guards at a Glendale nightclub fatally wounded a man who allegedly shot at a group of people fighting in the parking lot early Sunday, police said.

David Morales, 24, of Los Angeles died about 3 a.m. at Glendale Adventist Hospital about an hour after the shooting at the Excess club, 223 N. Glendale Ave., a Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman said.

Glendale Police Sgt. Mark Hansen said the shooting occurred as the club was closing and people flowed into the parking lot.

Two Los Angeles officers and a Glendale officer, all off-duty and wearing plainclothes, were working as security guards in the parking lot when a fight broke out, police said.

“A car drove up to the fight, and a guy got out and fired at the crowd,” Hansen said. “He then walked toward the officers who were walking in his direction to see what was going on.” Morales was pointing a gun in their direction, Hansen said. “The officers fired on the suspect who in turn fired on them.”

It was not clear how many shots the three officers fired or how many times Morales was hit, said Hansen, who would not release the officers’ names.