Man Is Killed by Officers in Shootout After High-Speed Chase in Compton

A man was killed early Tuesday in a shootout with two sheriff’s deputies and a Los Angeles police officer at the end of a tire-screeching pursuit through the streets of Compton, authorities said.

The chase began at 1:40 a.m., when the deputies tried to pull over a speeding gray Chevrolet Monte Carlo with its lights off near Compton Avenue and 105th Street in Watts, said Deputy Mark Bailey.

The car raced away, heading south on Compton Avenue, and an LAPD officer joined the pursuit, Bailey said.

The suspect’s car spun out of control and crashed into a fence at the intersection of Compton and 130th Street, Bailey said.

“The driver immediately got out and fired numerous rounds at the officers,” he said.

The three officers returned fire and the suspect fled on foot, authorities said. The suspect, in his 20s, was pronounced dead in a driveway on the 1300 block of East 130th Street. Investigators recovered a 9-millimeter handgun, Bailey said. The suspect’s identity was not released pending notification of next of kin.

No one else was injured, authorities said.

Sheriff’s officials held two passengers from the car, a man and woman, both in their 20s, for questioning, Bailey said.

According to a recent study, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has seen a slight decline in the number of suspects it chases, from 573 in 1993 to 500 last year.