A man who was carrying an airsoft gun when he was shot and killed by police was identified Sunday by coroner's officials.
Twenty-one-year-old Lionel Gibson of Long Beach was shot by police around 4:45 p.m. Saturday near 21st Street and Locust Avenue, Los Angeles County Coroner's officials and the Long Beach Police Department said.
Police said residents called to report a man with an "Uzi" style weapon talking with three people in a vehicle.
When officers arrived, they saw the butt of a gun exposed from the man's waistband and gave him several verbal commands to place his hands up, according to police. The officers opened fire after they said the man reached toward the gun. Gibson was pronounced dead at the scene.
The gun, which turned out to be an "airsoft replica assault rifle," was recovered from the man's waistband, police said.
Long Beach police detained the three men inside the car, but it wasn't clear how they were involved. One was armed with a handgun, police said.
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No officers were hurt. The shooting was under investigation.
