Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a 51-year-old man who allegedly pointed a pistol-grip crossbow at them in front of a Lancaster eatery, authorities said Monday.
A knife was also recovered at the scene of the shooting, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
The shooting happened at 1:08 p.m. Sunday in the 1800 block of West Avenue J, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Raquel Utley.
Deputies went to the scene in response to a call of a suicidal person and encountered the man outside the business holding a knife. He refused deputies’ orders to drop the weapon, according to the sheriff’s department.
Deputies fired nonlethal rounds, but they had minimal effect, officials said. At some point, he removed a pistol-grip crossbow from his backpack and raised it deputies, who fired at him.
Paramedics took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the LASD. No deputies were injured.
The suspect was later identified as Ricky Jimenez, according to the coroner’s office.
A news photographer at the scene told City News Service the man was standing in a doorway of a Tom’s restaurant.
The sheriff’s Homicide Bureau urged anyone with any information about the shooting to call them at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
