Bat-wielding man shot, injured by CHP officer in Artesia

ARTESIA, Calif. (KABC) -- A bat-wielding suspect was hospitalized after a California Highway Patrol officer shot him outside an Artesia strip mall early Saturday morning.

At around 1:30 a.m., authorities said a CHP officer saw a fight break out between two men in the parking lot of the Artesia Center strip mall north or Artesia and Pioneer boulevards.

The officer intervened, telling the man to put the bat down. Officials said the man did not heed those commands, and the officer shot him. The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear.

The suspect with the bat and the man he was fighting were both transported to an area hospital. The extent of their injuries were not immediately known.

There was a red Ford Mustang somehow involved in the incident. The vehicle was towed away during the investigation.

No officers were injured in this incident.