Woman killed by LAPD after robbery reported in South L.A.

Los Angeles police shot and killed a woman Wednesday afternoon in South L.A. after officers received a report of a robbery, officials said.

The incident unfolded about 1:40 p.m., when officers from the LAPD’s Southwest Division went to a pharmacy in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhood that had been robbed, Det. Meghan Aguilar said. Someone at the pharmacy, located in the 3700 block of Santa Rosalia Drive, described the female suspect to police and said she used a knife in the robbery, Aguilar said.

The officers broadcast that information to other officers in the area. About 20 minutes later, officers spotted a woman matching the description of the suspect in an alley near Marlton Avenue and Santo Tomas Drive, Aguilar said.

The officers attempted to detain the woman, Aguilar said. It was not immediately known what happened next or why police shot the woman, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Aguilar said a Taser was deployed during the incident -- a cartridge was found in the alley. But, Aguilar said, it was unclear whether the Taser actually struck the woman.

Aguilar said a “large knife” also was found at the scene.

No injuries were reported in the initial robbery, Aguilar said. The officers also were not hurt, she said.

Aguilar said the officers involved in the shooting were not wearing body cameras. Patrol cars used by officers in that division are equipped with cameras, but Aguilar said investigators had not yet examined the footage.

The woman was the 25th person shot by Los Angeles police so far this year. Thirteen, including her, were killed.

Petrita Moye had just come home from a nail salon around 2 p.m. when she said she heard five shots pierce the silence. Moye, 59, said her niece thought the banging sound was fire crackers.

“I said, ‘No, that’s gunshots,’” Moye recalled.

She and her niece tried to get a closer look once they heard sirens, she said, but police told them to stay behind the tape.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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