Man Killed, Officer Hurt in Shootout : Crime: Gun battle takes place in abandoned South L.A. building reputedly used for drug buys.

One man was shot dead and a Los Angeles police officer was wounded in the leg during a gun battle Monday at an abandoned South Los Angeles apartment building, allegedly known as a place to buy drugs, police said.

LAPD Officers Mark Meyer and Richard Browning went to the boarded-up gray stucco building near 51st and South Main streets about 12:30 p.m. after receiving “numerous citizen complaints about transients using narcotics at the location,” according to a prepared police account of the incident.

The officers entered the rear of one of the vacant apartments where they were confronted by a man armed with a small-caliber handgun, police said.

Meyer ordered the man to drop the weapon, but he refused and fired at Meyer, striking him in the right leg, police said. Meyer and his partner, fearing for their lives, returned fire, fatally shooting him in the torso, police said.

The man, whose name was not released, was described as a male Latino in his mid-20s. The handgun he allegedly used was recovered at the scene.

Meyer, a 29-year-old officer assigned to the LAPD’s Newton Division with five years on the force, was treated at a nearby hospital and released later in the day. Browning, 29, was unharmed.

Another man at the building was questioned by police, Sgt. John Pasquariello said, but he is not believed to be connected with the shooting.

The last LAPD officer wounded on duty was Cynthia Ann French, who was struck by several bullets Dec. 31, 1998. In that shooting, a fellow officer stripped off his shirt to stop French’s bleeding. As a result, the department began providing trauma kits for police to use in such emergencies.

The kit, equipped with medical supplies to halt bleeding, was used for the first time Monday on the wounded officer.

In a stretch of the city where gunfire is familiar, the reaction of neighbors was sharp.

“Whatever happened here, if it involved drugs, is symptomatic of something much larger,” said Emily Gibson, an English teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District. “The devastation of drugs in our community is the greatest tragedy since slavery.”

Several people agreed with police, saying that the building, located next to a carwash, was known as a hangout for drug users.

Jose Lopez, a cook who has lived down the street for nine years, said the building had been vacant at least 18 months. It had been the scene of several police visits because of illegal drug use and sales, he said. In recent months, gray paint had obliterated the graffiti and boards covered the windows.

Abandoned homes are frequently used by people interested in buying or using illegal drugs, police said. This particular building, Lopez said, appeared to have been cleaned up.

But just past noon on Labor Day, shots were fired. One neighbor, 13-year-old Monica Hernandez, said she heard six shots fired. Another said he heard more.

Shortly after the shooting, Mohammed Miah, who works at the nearby 99 & Up Mini Market, said an officer sat outside the store, clutching his leg and his torn pants. The sight of the wounded officer chilled Miah; it confirmed his fears about working at his uncle’s store.

Miah had a friend, a clerk at a nearby store, who was killed a month ago.

“Always,” he said, “I am scared.”

Times staff writer Matt Lait contributed to this story.