Gunman ambushes LAPD officers during unrelated traffic stop in South Los Angeles, bodycam shows

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Authorities on Friday released body camera footage that shows Los Angeles police shooting a gunman after he spontaneously opened fire on officers who were conducting an unrelated traffic stop in South L.A.

The incident occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on June 28 in the 7200 block of South Western Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Officers pulled over a black 2016 Lexus in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box. Video made public by the LAPD shows officers speaking with the driver of the car, a 23-year-old man.

After he steps out of the vehicle, an officer is talking to him when gunfire suddenly erupts. The officers and the driver duck for cover, looking around in an attempt to discover where the shooter is located.

One officer turns toward an adjacent parking lot, and his body camera captures the gunman pointing his handgun at the police. The officers return fire and the suspect drops to the ground, the footage shows.

The gunman was later pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified as 44-year-old Michael Meadows.

A 9mm semiautomatic "ghost gun" was recovered from him, along with an empty six-round Glock magazine, the LAPD said in a news release. The firearm was equipped with "a threaded barrel sound suppressor capability," the statement said.

No officers or civilians were injured.