Police shoot, kill burglary suspect holding man at knifepoint in Boyle Heights

BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A burglary suspect was shot and killed by police while holding a victim at knifepoint inside a Boyle Heights apartment on Sunday, according to authorities.

The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded to a call of a burglary in progress at the Pueblo del Sol Apartments in the 1400 block of Gabriel Garcia Marquez Street at about 8:30 p.m.

Neighbors allegedly saw the suspect breaking into the victim's apartment and called police.

When they arrived, officers said they saw an elderly man being held at knifepoint by a male suspect. Police shot and killed the suspect, authorities stated.

The suspect, a man in his 20s, died at the scene. The victim, a man in his 80s, was not injured, police said.

Investigators said they do not believe the victim and suspect knew each other.

"You hate to see anybody victimized but when you have someone that's elderly and often we think of the elderly as defenseless or more prone to be victimized, and it's just terrible to think that this person here, in their 80s, is in their residence, at home, and finds themselves in the middle of this," LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar said.

Police did not provide any additional information and stated their investigation into the shooting was ongoing.