Machete-wielding man shot, killed by deputies at Lancaster Albertsons store

LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) -- A man allegedly armed with two machetes was shot and killed by deputies Tuesday morning at an Albertsons supermarket in Lancaster.

The shooting occurred about 9:30 a.m. in the 43500 block of 20th Street West, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

An investigator told Eyewitness News that a man wielding a machete allegedly attacked an employee at a nearby Chevron gas station before he went to the Albertsons market.

A store clerk at the Chevron station said the man attacked her co-worker with the machete at around 3 a.m. The worker's hand was cut and she dashed out of the store bleeding, and was driven to a hospital by a customer. The victim was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, authorities said.

The suspect then made his way to the Albertsons store about a block away.

"When I walked in there was a guy arguing with the customers, and then I knew he had like a machete on the side," said an Albertsons employee who did not want to go on camera.

When deputies arrived to the scene, the suspect was standing outside the market with machetes in his backpack, the Sheriff's Department said in a news release.

Authorities said deputies tried calming down the man, but he "became agitated and grabbed both machetes in his hands."

As the confrontation moved inside the store, deputies demanded numerous times for the suspect to drop his weapons but he refused.

Deputies used a Taser twice before they shot him, an investigator said. Authorities said the suspect charged at the deputies prior to the shooting.

"I heard shots and then everybody started running to the back and we exited through the back," the Albertsons employee said.

"That's the worst experience I've ever had," the employee added.

Three deputies were involved in the shooting, authorities said.

Firefighter-paramedics arrived to treat the man, who was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The suspect has only been described as a man between 35-40 years of age.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.

City News Service contributed to this report.