LOS ANGELES – Police officers opened fire on a man who approached them with what appeared to be a hatchet or a drywall hammer outside of a motel in North Hollywood Thursday afternoon.
Emergency dispatchers first received calls of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 7500 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, near the intersection of Saticoy Street, at around 2 p.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told KTLA.
The caller said the suspect was damaging the inside of a nearby business, LAPD said.
Before using lethal force, officers attempted to stop the man as he approached them by firing non-lethal rounds from a shotgun, video captured by Key News Networks shows.
The non-lethal rounds were ineffective and, as the man drew closer, at least one officer opened fire with his service weapon, striking the man in the torso.
“They were commanding him Spanish,” one nearby shop owner who witnessed the incident told KTLA. “I guess they were telling him to put the hammer down and he did. He kept picking it up and leaving it back down.”
Authorities confirmed that they used less-than-lethal weapons to try to stop the man.
“Officers utilized various less-lethal munitions to include our 40 millimeter beanbag and taser, all of which were ineffective,” Capt. Kelly Muniz said. “The suspect continued to advance on officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
The suspect fell to the ground after being struck by police gunfire and was eventually surrounded by officers, who began life-saving measures on the 46-year-old until paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital.
He is listed in critical condition and currently undergoing treatment.
LAPD said traffic in Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Saticoy Street will be “heavily impacted” while police investigate.
