At least one South Gate Police Department officer shot a man on Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The shooting was reported around 4:50 p.m. and was originally said to have happened on the 8400 block of San Juan Avenue, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Department, which is assisting with the investigation.
No officers were hurt, but the person who was shot, identified only as a 39-year-old man, “was struck by gunfire and transported to a nearby hospital in unknown condition,” the release said.
On Saturday, the Sheriff’s Department released more information about the shooting, including the circumstances leading up to police shooting at the suspect.
The Sheriff’s Department says a South Gate field sergeant was flagged down by a man who said the suspect had passed him in a vehicle and flashed a gun at him.
The officer located the vehicle parked on the 3900 block of Independence Avenue and attempted to bring the suspect into custody.
But the man got out of the vehicle and allegedly reached for an object that the officer believed to be a firearm. The officer shot the suspect in the lower right leg, the Sheriff’s Department said, and the man fled the scene on foot.
He was later tracked down to a home on San Juan Avenue where he eventually surrendered to officers.
He was then transported to the hospital for injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.
A loaded semi-automatic handgun was located at the scene, the Sheriff’s Department said.
The shooting marked the second time someone was shot by a law enforcement officer in Southern California on Friday. Earlier, at least one Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy fatally shot someone in Moreno Valley. A third shooting involving law enforcement happened hours later in El Sereno, in which the suspect shot by LAPD officers was killed.
Anyone with information about the shooting in South Gate is asked to call 323-890-5500.
To report information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.