Montebello Officer Shoots Man Smashing Windows

A Montebello policewoman shot and critically injured a man early Saturday when she mistook his bizarre behavior for an armed assault on a convenience store, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

As the unidentified suspect clung to life at a local hospital, sheriff’s investigators reported that the officer had fired a shotgun into the man’s upper torso around 2 a.m., after she heard what she believed to be gunfire inside a 7-Eleven store in the 700 block of Washington Boulevard.

The suspect turned out to be unarmed, police said. What sounded like gunfire was the shattering of the store’s plate-glass window as it was hammered by the suspect.

The shooting is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department at the request of the Montebello Police Department. Sheriff’s officials said that the incident was the culmination of an argument that apparently broke out between a store clerk and the suspect and that the officer was reacting in fear for her life.

The store’s clerk had dialed 911 to complain that a man was smashing merchandise and ranting. As the clerk requested help from police, the dispatcher heard the sound of glass breaking in the background.

“Basically it was a disturbance call,” said Elisabeth Sachs, sheriff’s spokeswoman. “This man was acting crazy.”

The unassisted officer arrived at the store to find the man and the clerk arguing at the checkout counter. Then she heard two loud noises and lost sight of the clerk, sheriff’s officials said. Believing that she was witnessing an armed robbery, the police officer grabbed a shotgun from her cruiser and approached the store.

Sheriff’s investigators said the situation escalated from there when the man walked out of the convenience store.

The man, who wore a large black jacket, walked quickly from the store toward the officer. When the officer ordered him to stop and show his hands, the suspect kept them hidden behind his back and quickened his pace toward the officer, the investigators said.

“At that point she feared for her life and fired the shotgun,” Sachs said.

Neither the store clerk nor the officer was injured. Sachs said investigators from the department’s homicide bureau would be reviewing store surveillance videotape as part of their investigation and might release the man’s identity today.

Representatives of 7-Eleven declined to comment on the incident and Montebello police officials could not be reached Saturday.