Guard Shoots Man at King Hospital
A man was in stable condition Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr./Charles Drew Medical Center after he was shot by a county safety officer whom he allegedly attacked at the hospital, authorities said.
The shooting occurred in the hospital’s Augustus F. Hawkins psychiatric wing, but authorities were unsure if the wounded man, identified as Damon Ballou, 18, was a patient or a visitor, said Los Angeles Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Spear.
Ballou was shot in the abdomen and was being treated at the hospital, Spear said. A hospital spokeswoman said Ballou was in stable condition Saturday evening.
The shooting will be investigated as if it were a deputy-involved shooting, Spear said. He said Ballou did not appear to have a weapon.
County safety officers are similar to security guards, and work at county-run facilities.
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