Police shoot, injure man allegedly armed with rifle outside burning home in El Monte
EL MONTE, Calif. (KABC) -- Police shot and injured a man allegedly armed with a rifle outside a burning home in El Monte.
The incident unfolded around 7 p.m. Sunday when officers responded to the house fire on Elrovia Avenue, according to the El Monte Police Department.
When they arrived, they encountered a man standing in the driveway with a rifle. A brief standoff between the man and police followed while "the home was engulfed in flames, and the front lawn was smoldering," the department said.
Officers deployed less-lethal weapons on the man during the standoff. At one point, police say the man pointed the rifle at officers, prompting them to open fire.
The suspect was hit by gunfire and taken to the hospital in critical condition. No officers were injured.
Meanwhile, firefighters moved in to put out the flames. Nobody was found inside the burned home.
The incident remains under investigation.
