LOS ANGELES : Deputy Shoots, Kills Man Who Allegedly Pulled Knife

A 43-year-old man was shot to death by a sheriff’s deputy Thursday after the man allegedly pulled a knife on the deputy’s partner at an apartment house near MacArthur Park, officials said.

Deputy Britta Tubbs, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department, said the incident occurred at 11:50 a.m. while the deputies were conducting a check on a work-release inmate living at the complex at 1036 S. Menlo Ave.

Tubbs said the deputies, one male, the other female, had just finished their assignment and were leaving the building in single file when a man shoved the male deputy past a self-locking security gate and then pulled the door shut, trapping himself with the female deputy.

He lunged at her and she was able to fend him off, but the man pulled a 6-inch steak knife and tried to stab her, Tubbs said. As they struggled, Tubbs said, the male deputy fired several rounds through the security door, wounding the man in the upper torso.

The assailant--who was not identified pending family notification--was taken to California Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Tubbs said the dead man was not the inmate the deputies had checked on. The deputies were not identified.