LAPD officers shoot man in South L.A., marking second fatal shooting of new year

Police shot and killed a man in South Los Angeles on Tuesday, marking the second such incident in two days.

Officers responded to a call of an assault with a deadly weapon around 4:45 p.m. in the 2700 block of South Central Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The circumstances that caused police to be called there remain unclear.

In a series of tweets, police said that responding officers found the man, whose name hasn’t been released, holding a “sharp metal object about a foot in length.”

“After telling the suspect to drop the metal object several times, he did not and approached the officers, at which time an officer involved shooting occurred,” according to the department’s account, which The Times could not independently verify.

Firefighters were called to the area at 5:49 p.m. and told to stage at 28th Street and Naomi Avenue while police conducted a “tactical operation,” said Brian Humphrey, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson. Humphrey referred further questions to police.

The man was transported by the LAFD to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 7:55 p.m., police said.

No officers were injured in the incident.

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The shooting comes a day after LAPD officers in Westlake shot and killed a man who was allegedly armed with a knife.

Rampart Division patrol officers were called around 3:30 p.m. Monday to a domestic violence restraining order violation at an apartment building in the 200 block of South Witmer Street, authorities said.

The officers spoke with a man in his 40s who was inside a unit, but the man wouldn’t come out or comply with orders, police said. They continued talking to him for about 15 minutes before he allegedly “armed himself with a large knife.”

Officers used “less lethal” options, including pepper spray and a Taser, and the man momentarily dropped the knife but immediately rearmed himself, police said. Police then fatally shot the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both incidents will be investigated by the LAPD’s Force Investigations Division and the findings will be presented to the civilian-led Police Commission, which will determine whether the officers followed department policy. Such investigations typically take several months and can last up to a year.

A video summary of each shooting, including clips of footage from body-worn cameras of officers at the scene, must be released within 45 days, according to department rules.