A man who grabbed an LAPD officer’s stun gun during an altercation inside a Hollywood gym locker room was fatally shot by police Monday morning, authorities said.
The incident began to unfold about 8:10 a.m., when Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a battery call at the 24 Hour Fitness gym at 6380 Sunset Blvd., at a complex where the ArcLight theater is also located.
The suspect was apparently involved in some sort of confrontation with an employee at the gym, which prompted the 911 call, Detective Meghan Aguilar said.
Authorities later said he had been a former member of the gym and was believed to be homeless.
Responding officers found the man inside the locker room of the gym and the officers were in an altercation with the suspect.
The suspect allegedly “gained control” of an officer’s Taser and the man was shot by police, Aguilar said. The man was eventually declared dead at the scene. He was only described as being in his 30s. A male and a female officer were involved in the incident. One of the officers suffered moderate injuries during the altercation, but the officer was not shot, Aguilar said.
Aguilar said the suspect was “still in possession of the Taser” after he died.
She added that the gym is expected to be closed between four and six hours as investigators try and piece together exactly what happened. It is unclear if other people were inside the locker room during the shooting, but Aguilar said patrons inside the gym were being interviewed by investigators.
Brandon Lee was at the gym when the incident occurred.
“Everyone starts yelling and screaming ‘active shooter, active shooter, go downstairs.’ So everybody runs downstairs,” Lee said.
Earlier, LAPD officials asked motorists and residents to avoid the area during the investigation. They also indicated that the incident was not an active shooter situation.