Officers kill gunman near Jefferson Park

Two Los Angeles police officers shot and killed a man who allegedly pointed a pistol at them Saturday night near Jefferson Park, authorities said.

The suspect, a man in his 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene, a .357 magnum handgun by his side, after the 8:50 p.m. incident, said Officer Mike Lopez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim had not been identified as of late Sunday.

The officers, who had been patrolling the area because of increased gang activity, stopped to talk to a man on a skateboard in the 3600 block of 30th Street, Lopez said. The man jumped off the skateboard and ran through the yards of some houses while the officers pursued on foot.

As they turned a corner, Lopez said, the man allegedly opened fire, prompting the officers to return fire, hitting and killing him. Neither officer was hurt.

It was the eighth time this year that suspects have shot at LAPD officers, Lopez said.