Woman killed in officer-involved shooting in South Los Angeles

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A woman was shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting in South Los Angeles Sunday morning, police said.

LAPD spokesman Officer Mike Lopez said two officers from the Newton Division responded to a report of a woman armed with an 8-inch blade near East 22nd and South San Pedro streets at about 9:30 a.m.

"They encountered a female who had a blade approximately 8 inches long. Officers did make contact and an officer-involved-shooting occurred," Sgt. Frank Preciado said, a spokesman for the LAPD. "Our understanding is that both officers did discharge their firearm."

Paramedics were dispatched to a reported shooting call at about 9:42 a.m., and the woman was rushed to a nearby hospital, Brian Humphrey of the L.A. Fire Department said.

The woman, who was about 30 years old, was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. Officers will not release the name of the woman but said she is someone they have encountered in the past.

Friends of the woman said she was a possible drug user and often carried a bread knife, but people who knew the woman also said she was harmless.

The officers who fired their weapons were wearing body cameras and the footage is being examined as part of the investigation, officials said.

San Pedro Street remains shut down from 21st to 23rd streets as the LAPD's Force Investigation Division and the Inspector General's Office investigated the officer-involved shooting.