Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Man Wielding Airsoft Gun Dies in Officer-Involved Shooting

A man apparently armed with a pellet gun was shot and killed Thursday by police in Redondo Beach.

Officers responded around 4:10 p.m. to a call of an individual holding a gun in the 2500 block of Gates Avenue and received an update that the suspect was chasing an unknown person and possibly had fired shots at that person, according to Deputy Trina Schrader with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which was assisting Redondo Beach police with the investigation.

Upon officers' arrival, an officer-involved shooting occurred. The suspect was hit at least once in the upper body and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, Schrader said.

"A firearm was recovered here at the scene that was in possession of the suspect," Sheriff's Lt. Rodney Moore told reporters. "Upon closer inspection, it appears that firearm is in fact an Airsoft or pellet gun." He described it as "very realistic-looking."

Officers were unable to locate the person who was reportedly being chased by the suspect, Schrader said. No officers were injured in the shooting.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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