Police Shoot Man During Alleged Attack

Police trying to break up a scuffle outside a tattoo parlor Thursday afternoon shot a man they said came at them with a claw hammer and ignored commands to drop it, a department spokesman said.

The wounded man, whose identity was not immediately available, was shot once by a Van Nuys police detective outside of Tattoo: The World Famous Emporium, according to Police Lt. Anthony Alba. He was listed in serious condition at a local hospital.

Witnesses reported hearing shouts and seeing several men brawling at the parlor, located in the 14440 block of Van Nuys Boulevard.

“They were really going at it,” said Ben Asriri, who works across the street from the tattoo business. “And these were the kind of guys that hit you in the worst possible way.”

According to police, the two officers involved in the shooting--a female officer and a male detective--were returning to the station about 2:50 p.m. when they observed the fight.

“One man walked toward officers threatening them with a claw hammer,” Alba said. The detective fired after he and his partner “identified themselves as police and the suspect continued to come at them,” Alba said.

Two other men involved in the brawl were taken to the Van Nuys station where they were questioned about the incident.

“The unusual thing about this incident was that the officers were trying to break up a street fight and this individual interjected himself into it for unknown reasons,” Alba said. “They were merely trying to keep the peace.”