Long Beach police shoot, kill man on rooftop after he waves gun at them

LONG BEACH, Calif. (CNS) -- Long Beach police officers shot and killed a man who allegedly waved a gun at them while standing on a rooftop after trying to carjack someone in the area.

The incident happened Saturday in the 1100 block of East 17th Street, when police were called to the area for a dispute involving a person armed with a gun.

When they arrived, they spotted a man, later identified as 42-year-old Jaime Rodriguez, on the roof of a home with what appeared to be a gun.

The man was seen in video from the scene pacing on the roof, gesturing and appearing agitated while he held the handgun.

"Officers made several attempts to de-escalate the situation, as the man refused to put down the firearm," said Officer Paige White of the Long Beach Police Department. "Officers established a perimeter, activated SWAT and advised nearby residents to evacuate and/or shelter in place."

After he refused to put down the gun, officers shot 40mm less-lethal foam projectiles at him, but he still did not comply.

"After approximately 20 minutes, the man pointed the firearm at officers, which resulted in officers discharging their handguns and an AR-15 patrol rifle," White said. "The man continued to manipulate the firearm in his hand and refused to follow multiple commands to drop the firearm."

SWAT officers were able to get onto the roof and attempt to aid Rodriguez after he became unresponsive. Long Beach Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, White said.

Investigators later learned that Rodriguez had assaulted someone and attempted to commit a carjacking before officers arrived on scene. One person was injured and brought to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

No officers were injured in the incident, White said.

A firearm was recovered at the scene, police said. All of the officers were equipped with body-worn cameras and footage will be reviewed by police officials and made available to the public as soon as possible, according to police.