Man allegedly armed with handgun is shot and killed by deputies in Watts

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a man believed to be armed with a handgun in the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts on Wednesday night.

The shooting occurred around 7:17 p.m shortly after the man led deputies on a foot chase into the housing development, sheriff’s officials said.

According to a statement released by the department, deputies were in the area of Imperial Highway and Slater Avenue when they saw a parked vehicle.

“When the deputies approached, the male standing outside of the vehicle ran eastbound through a driveway, and northbound across Imperial Highway, armed with a handgun,” the statement read in part.

The deputies were pursuing the suspect as he ran into the housing when a deputy-involved shooting occurred.

It was not immediately clear what led up to the shooting, which occurred in the 1300 block of 115th Street. A handgun was recovered at the scene. No deputies were injured in the shooting. The man shot by the deputies was not immediately identified.

The Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau is investigating.

A week ago, Los Angeles police clashed with a crowd in the same area. A gang unit near 112th Street and Zamora Avenue observed a large crowd that was drinking, smoking marijuana, playing loud music and blocking the road, LAPD Officer Liliana Preciado said at the time.

Officers chased the group and detained two men. While they were detaining the men, the growing crowd became agitated and surrounded the officers, Preciado said.

The Sacramento Kings’ Zach Randolph was one of two men arrested that night.

Five police vehicles and one sheriff’s vehicle were vandalized during the incident. Authorities also recovered two guns, and impounded two vehicles and narcotics during the clash.

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Twitter: @AleneTchek

UPDATES:

8:00 a.m. Aug. 17: This article was updated with information about the shooting.

This post was originally published at 8:50 p.m. Aug. 16.