Video posted on the Citizen App shows police using less-lethal rounds. Eventually, they opened fire when the suspect reportedly ran toward officers.
Officials say the suspect is out of surgery and in stable but critical condition as the massive police investigation continues. It involves multiple agencies, including police from Los Alamitos, Cypress and Long Beach.
Long Beach police said it all started in their city around 10 a.m., when officers were called about a possible DUI and road rage incident, which was reportedly impacting one of their fire vehicles that was transporting a patient.
They looped in Cypress and Los Alamitos police for assistance as they followed the suspect.
Police said they followed the suspect vehicle to UCI Health - Los Alamitos on Katella Avenue near Cherry Street, where he got out of the car wielding a machete around 11 a.m.
"He is running eastbound towards the hospital. He's holding a machete. Male, white, shaved head, no shirt, gray shorts. Advise the hospital; we're going to have to lock it down," first responders were heard reporting on radio traffic.
A bystander's video showed the shirtless suspect pacing back and forth on a sidewalk, swinging a machete and apparently yelling at nearby officers.
"We went to the hallway doors, and I stood there for the majority of the time, and he was wielding a machete around," said witness Ashley Newton. "He was like, huffing his chest a lot and pulling his arms up, like you could tell he was very angry."
As UCI Health - Los Alamitos went into lockdown, crisis negotiators were brought to the scene, but efforts were unsuccessful.
Witnesses said it was about 40 minutes before police turned to less-lethal measures, including beanbag rounds and K-9s.
Video shows the suspect running. That's when officers from two of the responding agencies shot the man.
"They then went to less-than-lethal, and that was unsuccessful also, and so then the suspect started to run in the direction of the officers with his machete, and that's when the officers made the decision to fire," said Robert Acosta with Los Alamitos police.
Eyewitness News spoke to a woman who was inside one of the nearby medical buildings. She said she noticed police activity outside before hearing what she said sounded like gunshots.
"I felt sorry, you know? Sad that things in our world have turned to situations like this, and people are getting killed because they're not stopping and thinking about... they're not thinking about the consequences of the things that they're doing," said Maggie Knoles.
"Just having a little bit of empathy or sympathy for people with mental health issues. It's sad. It's sad to see something like that happen," Newton said.
In a statement, a UCI Health - Los Alamitos spokesperson said their staff and patients are safe, and care remained uninterrupted during the brief lockdown.
As with all officer-involved shootings, the Orange County District Attorney's Office will now investigate.