An 18-year-old was shot and killed by Los Angles County sheriff’s deputy on Thursday, and now, the incident is under investigation.
According to ABC7, the shooting occurred around 6 pm, in the 400 block of Redondo Beach Boulevard, near Figueroa Street in Gardena.
Officials say Compton sheriff’s deputies were patrolling the area at the time of the incident when they spotted 18-year-old Andres Guardado. When Guardado noticed the police, he allegedly pulled a gun, which, witnesses say, was on his person because he worked as a security guard.
“Deputies observed the individual, at which point he observed the deputies,” Lt. Charles Calderaro said during a briefing. “The individual then produced a handgun and began running southbound away from the deputies through businesses nearby.”
He then turned to run away; however, shortly after, Guardado was shot and killed by the deputies.
“Deputies engaged in a short foot pursuit between the two businesses,” Calderaro said. “At some point, deputies contacted the suspect, and that’s when the deputy-involved shooting occurred.”
#BREAKING LA Sheriff’s deputies shoot and kill an 18 year old Hispanic security guard outside the auto-body shop he was patrolling in Gardena. Police say the guard, who was armed, ran prompting the shooting. #LA #Gardena #PoliceBrutality #Shooting pic.twitter.com/OfOPpNldiL
— Eric Wasserman 🦆 "WASS" (@EricWasserman1) June 19, 2020
Guardado was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured.
According to the news outlet, Calderaro said a gun was recovered at the scene, but it remains unclear if Guardado fired his weapon.
“We had someone keeping an eye on the front because we’ve been having people tagging up recently and stuff like that, and the police apparently came up and pulled a gun on him, and he got scared and ran,” a co-worker of Guardado said.
“He has always worked as a professional security guard,” Guardado’s sister said, adding that he worked at an auto body shop. “He had no armed weapons on him. None.”
According to Guardado’s cousin, he was also going to school to become an RN.
