Staff
A man described as armed who was wanted for an assault and attempted carjacking in Norwalk was shot by deputies Thursday night, then holed up in a home before the Sheriff’s SWAT arrested him, SoCal News Group reported.
Deputies checking a nearby yard also discovered the body of a 67-year-old man with trauma to the upper torso, according to Deputy Grace Medrano, a Sheriff’s spokeswoman.
The California Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the shooting death of the bystander, state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office announced Friday.
The man was identified by coroners as 67-year-old Pedro Lopez.
While the sheriff’s department called the man a victim, Medrano said it’s still unknown who is the suspect in his death. It has not been determined how Lopez was shot and killed, according to Bonta’s office.
Once the investigation has been completed, it will be turned over to the Department of Justice’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review.
The assault suspect had multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso and was taken to the hospital, Medrano said.
The shootings happened in the 12100 block of Foster Road shortly after 7 p.m. Deputies were looking for a man suspected of a recent assault with a deadly weapon with a firearm and attempted carjacking in the city, Medrano said. Detectives have not released details about the assault and carjacking.
They spotted the suspect walking in the area. A deputy tried to detain the man who produced a handgun, she said. The deputy opened fire.
A second deputy shot at the suspect when he tried to run.
The armed suspect went to a front yard of a nearby home. Another deputy tried to detain him and also shot at him, according to Medrano.
She said the residents, who didn’t know the suspect, left the home when he entered.
Several residents were evacuated, deputies closed off the area and called in the Special Enforcement Bureau, which is the department’s SWAT. The special enforcement deputies later entered the home and arrested the suspect, whose name has not been released.
Anyone with information about the case can call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222- 8477 or use the website lacrimestoppers.org
