Hit-and-Run Crash Leads to Fatal Shooting of Man

Following a traffic accident Sunday night, a 26-year-old man was shot to death by a resident who police say apparently acted in self-defense.

The crash that set the events in motion occurred about 11:30 p.m. Sunday in the 12000 block of Cantara Street, authorities said.

Residents of a home on Cantara Street told police they heard a loud noise and went outside to investigate, said Los Angeles Police Det. Mike Coffey.

They found that a vehicle belonging to one of the residents had been hit. The other vehicle fled, but a bumper and license plate that appeared to have come from it were left behind.

The residents called police, Coffey said, and as they were waiting, a 26-year-old man who is believed to have been the hit-and-run driver and another man in his 20s returned to the scene and asked the residents what had happened.

Coffey said the residents told the men that there had been a hit-and-run crash and that the police had been called.

The 26-year-old, who lived in North Hollywood, threatened the residents with a gun, Coffey said. The owner of the damaged vehicle got his own gun and shot both men, killing the 26-year-old, whose name has not been released by police. The other man was found later at a hospital, where he was being treated for less serious gunshot wounds.

Coffey said the two men apparently had fled after their vehicle hit the parked car. They returned later in a different vehicle to retrieve the bumper and license plate, believing that the evidence would connect them to the crash, he said. They were not suspected of crimes apart from the hit-and-run, Coffey said.

The two weapons were retrieved, Coffey said, adding that the man who fired the shots apparently acted in self-defense.

The case was to be presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.