By MARC NATHANSON, ABC News
(LOS ANGELES) — Protesters gathered in South Los Angeles Monday night after Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a Black man who they say had a handgun and was fighting with them.
The shooting occurred Monday afternoon after two deputies pulled over a man who was riding a bicycle in violation of vehicle laws, according to Sheriff’s Department Lt. Brandon Dean.
The man got off the bike and ran off, Dean said, and the deputies ran him down.
“Our suspect was holding some items of clothing in his hands, punched one of the officers in the face, and then dropped the items in his hands,” Dean said. “The deputies noticed that inside the clothing items he dropped was a black semiautomatic handgun, at which time a deputy-involved shooting occurred.”
The suspect was struck several times, with both officers firing their weapons, Dean said.
Deputies recovered the handgun that the man had been carrying, he said. The investigation is ongoing.
Members of Black Lives Matter LA called on demonstrators to protest the shooting at the site of the incident. Video of the demonstration overnight, which was posted on social media, shows tense scenes between protesters and police near the scene of the shooting in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Westmont.
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