Guard Kills Armed Robbery Suspect at Crenshaw Mall

A security guard shot and killed one of two men who tried to rob her early Monday, the woman’s first day guarding a Crenshaw district shopping center, authorities said.

The guard, Regina Miller, was confronted by two men about 8:05 a.m. in the parking lot of the Baldwin Hills Center in the 3700 block of South La Brea Avenue, police said. One man was carrying a sawed-off rifle, police said, and ordered the guard to turn over her handgun. Instead, Miller drew her weapon and shot the armed man, police said. The man knocked her to the ground.

“While on her back, the second suspect comes, wrests the gun from her hand and kicks her,” said Det. Richard Marks.

Miller fired a total of five shots, Marks said. It was unclear how many times the suspect was struck.

The wounded man fled to a getaway car and drove himself and his companion to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, Marks said. The man, 18, later died of his wounds. His name was withheld pending notification of his family.

His alleged accomplice, Kisasi Liggins, 26, of Hawthorne was arrested by police at the hospital and booked on suspicion of murder. California law allows for accomplices to be liable for deaths that occur during a crime.

The guard suffered knee and chest injuries. She was treated at Brotman Medical Center in Culver City and released.

Police were unsure why the suspects confronted the guard. Most businesses in the mall were closed at the time, so police say the men may have wanted to steal her gun.