East LA deputy-involved shooting: Man killed after commandeering patrol vehicle

EAST LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A man in his 30s was killed in a deputy-involved shooting in East Los Angeles on Tuesday evening after he got into a sheriff's vehicle and drove toward a deputy, authorities said.

The incident began about 10 p.m. when deputies responded to a report of a man "acting suspiciously" in the parking structure of an apartment complex in the 5000 block of East Third Street, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. The location is adjacent to the sheriff's East L.A. station.

"We know each other," a woman, who declined to be identified publicly, said of herself and her neighbors. "When we see someone we don't know, and then approaching cars in an odd manner, of course they're going to call the police."

When deputies arrived at the scene, they were told that the man was looking inside vehicles on the structure's lower level. They found him there, apparently trying to hide from them as they exited their vehicle, investigators said.

The deputies tried to detain the man, who then ran past them, according to the sheriff's news release.

One of the deputies, fearing the man would enter the patrol vehicle, fired a Taser at him, to no avail.

"The suspect then entered the patrol vehicle, put it in drive, and drove in the direction of the second deputy, at which time a deputy-involved shooting occurred," the statement said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene after being struck in the upper torso. He was not immediately identified.

No deputies were injured.