Man fatally shot by Gardena police

Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives are helping with the investigation of a man’s fatal shooting by Gardena police officers, officials said Monday.

The shooting occurred around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, when officers responded to a robbery call at a drug store in the 15700 block of Western Avenue, the sheriff’s department said.

En route to the scene of the robbery, which police were told involved a stolen bicycle, an officer in the 1600 block of Redondo Beach Boulevard spotted two men on bicycles coming from the direction of the robbery.

He tried to detain the men but one acted “strangely” and did not follow orders, said sheriff’s Deputy Lilian Peck.

Soon, other officers and a third man arrived, and the man stepped between officers and the two detainees. Instead of complying with officers’ commands, he reached for his waistband area and advanced toward the officers, Peck said in a written statement.

Several officers, believing the man was about to shoot them, fired, striking him in the upper body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

One of the other two men also was shot and taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, Peck said.

No one involved in the shooting has been publicly identified, and no officers were injured.

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