Man shot to death by LAPD after attacking police in Van Nuys; 2 officers injured

VAN NUYS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A man was shot to death by Los Angeles police after he apparently attacked and injured officers who were responding to a neighbor dispute in Van Nuys.

It all began around 11:30 p.m. Thursday when a resident in the 14600 block of Valerio Street called 911 to report a dispute with a neighbor.

When officers arrived on scene, the resident directed them to a neighbor's home. When the officers approached that neighbor, he became combative and a physical altercation occurred, police said.

"At some point during that altercation, the suspect armed himself with an unknown type of hard object and that's when he began to strike one of the officers in the head and the shoulder areas with that object," described LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery.

Investigators said that's when the two officers fired their weapons at the man. The suspect, only described as a man in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A use-of-force investigation was underway.

The reason behind the initial neighbor dispute was not known, but investigators said the resident who called 911 felt threatened enough to alert authorities.

Neighbors told Eyewitness News that the suspect and others inside the home were homeless and illegally squatting at the residence, but police have yet to confirm that information.