Los Angeles police fatally shot an 18-year-old man Saturday in South Los Angeles after he bailed out of a vehicle being pursued by officers and ran away on foot.
The fatal shooting of the man, identified by his relatives as Carnell Snell Jr., stirred anger among residents that lingered into the night. Police say Snell was armed with a gun, though residents almost immediately questioned that account.
The events leading up to the shooting began about 1 p.m., when officers spotted a car with paper plates and tried to stop it, thinking the vehicle may have been stolen, Sgt. Barry Montgomery told reporters gathered at 108th Street and Western Avenue.
When the driver of the vehicle failed to stop, officers began a pursuit, Montgomery said.
The vehicle stopped near 106th Street and Western, and two passengers got out of the car and ran in different directions, police said. The officers chased one of them toward the back of a house on 107th Street, Montgomery said, where police shot him.
Trenell Snell, 17, said she was outside with friends when she saw her older brother, CJ, running from police. Trenell Snell started running too, she said. Then she heard gunfire — “boom, boom, boom, boom.”
She hit the ground. When she got up, she said, her brother was on the ground, handcuffed.
“At the end of the day, the cops came and shot my brother,” she said. “Killed my brother.”
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“It’s a shame that his life ended at 18 years old,” said Carlena Hall, center, a great-aunt of Carnell Snell Jr., who was fatally shot by LAPD police in South L.A. At left is Tranell Snell, 17, Snell’s sister, and at right is Debbie Washington, his aunt.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 2/32
Marian Petersen, 71, whose last protest was in the 1965 Watts riots, marches down Central Avenue to the LAPD’s Newton Division station after officers shot a Latino boy Sunday night.
(Allen J.Schaben / Los Angeles TImes) 3/32
Protestors march down Central Ave. to LAPD Newton Division to protest officers shooting a Latino man Sunday night. Protestors started at the site where police fatally shot a man Sunday in South Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 4/32
A protester holds a sign in front of the LAPD Newton Divison station on Monday night. Protesters started their march at the site where police fatally shot a Latino man Sunday in South Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 5/32
Carl Winzer lights candles at the scene where 18-year-old Carnell Snell Jr. was fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 6/32
“I literally watched my brother catch his last breath,” said Tranell Snell, 17, the sister of Carnell Snell Jr. “I literally watched him, begging him to stay alive for me. Please, please, I begged my brother. Please! They let my brother sit there, sit there and die. They did not care.”
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 7/32
Mike Miller sits amid dozens of candles that mark the house where 18-year-old Carnell Snell Jr. was fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers on Saturday.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 8/32
Jamari Brown, 13, holds a sign with other protesters at the site where a Latino man was fatally shot by officers Sunday night near 48th Street and Ascot Avenue.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 9/32
LAPD officers arrest a protester in the lobby of the police headquarters on suspicion of failure to disperse after Chief Charlie Beck gave details to the media about the shooting death of Carnell Snell Jr.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) 10/32
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck speaks at a press conference addressing two recent officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 11/32
Protesters shout at police officers inside the lobby of LAPD headquarters while Police Chief Charlie Beck provides details about the officer-involved shooting death of Carnell Snell Jr.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) 12/32
Protesters shout out their messege inside the lobby of LAPD headquarters after Police Chief Charlie Beck gave details to the media about the officer-involved shooting death of Carnell Snell Jr.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) 13/32
LAPD officers move media and protesters away from the lobby of police headquarters after three protesters were arrested on suspicion of failure to disperse following a morning press conference.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) 14/32
The Los Angeles Police Department disperses the crowd along 107th Street in Los Angeles. Four activists were arrested by LAPD.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 15/32
An activist is arrested by LAPD Sunday night after police gave orders to leave the area along 107th Street.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 16/32
Police officers talk with family members and residents along 107th Street, while dispersing the crowd along Western Avenue and 107th Street in South Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 17/32
An activist is arrested by LAPD after they gave orders to clear the area along 107th Street. Protesters were rallying after police shot an 18-year-old in South L.A.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 18/32
Police disperse the crowd along Western Avenue and 107th Street in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sunday night. Four activists were arrested by LAPD.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 19/32
Los Angeles police disperse the crowd along Western Avenue and 107th Street in South Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 20/32
LAPD disperse the crowd blocking Western Avenue after a vigil is held for Carnell Snell Jr., 18, who was fatally shot by police Saturday after a vehicle pursuit, in Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 21/32
A women confronts the LA County Sheriif blocking the street after a vigil is held for Carnell Snell Jr., 18, who was fatally shot by LAPD police Saturday after a vehicle pursuit, in Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 22/32
Jeromy Jackson lights candles at a vigil for his friend Carnell Snell Jr., 18, who was fatally shot by LAPD police Saturday after a vehicle pursuit.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 23/32
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials monitor protesters at 108th Street and Western Avenue after a vigil was held for Carnell Snell Jr. on Sunday.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 24/32
A young woman leaves blue and white balloons at a sidewalk memorial to Carnell Snell Jr. on Sunday afternoon.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 25/32
Neighbors brace a distraught Monique Morgan as she visits the scene where her son, Carnell Snell, 18, was fatally shot by police. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times )
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Monique Morgan, the mother of Carnell Snell, is comforted by a neighbor as they look at a makeshift memorial for Morgan’s son.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 27/32
Bullet holes mark a steel gate at a residence along 107th Street in South Los Angeles, the scene of an officer-involved shooting on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016. Police shot and killed Carnell Snell Jr., 18, after a brief car chase that ended near the intersection of 107th Street and Western Avenue in South Los Angeles.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 28/32
Monique Morgan, in blue shirt, pleads with Los Angeles police to let her see her son, Carnell “CJ” Snell Jr. Police fatally shot the 18-year-old man in South L.A. on Saturday, authorities say. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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A protestor holds up a sign in South Los Angeles after an officer-involved shooting.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 30/32
A crowd gathers at Western Avenue, where they voiced their frustration with police.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 31/32
Police line up along Western Avenue in Los Angeles after the shooting.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 32/32
Los Angeles police try to keep the peace.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) Relatives said Snell was killed outside his house.
Police have not said what exactly happened in the moments before the shooting, citing the early stages of the investigation. An LAPD spokesman said a handgun was found at the scene.
Police have not found the driver of the vehicle or the other passenger. They did not give any other information about those individuals.
As news of the shooting spread through the neighborhood, dozens of local activists and other people gathered on the outskirts of the police tape blocking a wide swath of the neighborhood, at one point crashing a police news conference.
“People are fired up and can’t take it anymore,” one woman said to another.
Tia Gonzalez, 36, said she came to the scene because she knew the community was “going to be hurting.” She criticized shootings by police, saying officers should be better trained to avoid killing people.
“A police officer should not be the judge, the jury and the executioner,” she said.
Snell’s mother, Monique Morgan, and other relatives gathered near more police tape on 107th, just down the street from where the 18-year-old was killed. They described Snell as a respectful young man who enjoyed skateboarding and cared deeply for his family.
“This is completely unexpected,” said Tasha Rangel, who has known Snell since he was a boy.
Snell’s mother cried as she begged officers to let her past the tape to see her son’s body.
“Please, can I see my son?” she said. “I want to see my son.”
Officers soon let the family past the police tape to wait at another relative’s home.
Video provided by OnScene.tv shows confrontation between community members and police after Los Angeles police shot and killed an armed suspect Saturday in South L.A.
A woman driving down the street stopped her car near the crowd. “They killed him?” she asked through the open car window.
Her shoulders sank.
Later in the day, the crowd lingering outside the police tape grew — and, at times, grew more tense. People shouted profanities at a line of officers wearing riot gear. The crowd later shut down the intersection at 108th and Western, chalking Snell’s name in the road.
“Say his name,” one message said.
Late Saturday, protesters marched outside Mayor Eric Garcetti’s home in Hancock Park. Photos posted by a KCBS reporter Sunday show eggs that had apparently been thrown at the residence. Another protest was planned for Sunday morning.
Times staff writer Marisa Gerber and photographer Barbara Davidson contributed to this report.
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UPDATES:
8:10 a.m.: This article has been updated with more information about the Garcetti protest.
Oct. 2, 7:20 a.m. This article has been updated with news about the protest outside Eric Garcetti’s home.
10:32 p.m.: This story has been updated with information about a second passenger who was in the vehicle.
7:50 p.m.: This story has been updated with new information from a reporter at the scene.
5:46 p.m.: This story has been updated with new information from police and witnesses at the scene.
This story was originally published Oct. 1 at 2:27 p.m.
