Off-Duty Deputy Foils Robbery
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy exchanged gunfire with two men who were robbing another man at gunpoint in a telephone booth Monday afternoon, authorities said.
No one was injured in the shooting, and the two men escaped in a red Mitsubishi coupe, said Mike Partain, an LAPD spokesman.
The sheriff’s deputy, whose name was not made public, was in the 10300 block of Balboa Boulevard about 3:20 p.m. when he saw two men in their early 20s robbing a man in a telephone booth.
One of the robbers was pointing a gun at the man’s head, Partain said. Fearing that the victim could be shot, the deputy went to his pickup truck nearby and got a gun. When he confronted the robbers and ordered them to drop their weapon, the gunman pointed his weapon at the deputy.
The deputy fired one shot, missing the robbers, who then fled in their car.
As they were driving away, one robber leaned out the passenger’s side window and fired a single shot at the deputy, but missed.
The victim was not harmed and lost no money, police said.
No arrests had been made Monday night, and police said the investigation was continuing.
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