Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies fatally shot an 18-year-old latino male, identified by family members as Andres Guardado.
Guardado was a security guard at an auto shop in Gardena where the shooting happened. The sheriff's department deputies were patrolling the area say they allegedly say they saw a man flash a gun then began to run away from them.
The owner of the shop Andrew Heney, said he hired Guardado because they had "certain issues with people tagging and stuff like that." “And then the police came up, and they pulled their guns on him and he ran because he was scared, and they shot and killed him. He’s got a clean background and everything. There’s no reason.”
Deputies chased Guardado, on a short foot persuit then opened fired and killed him.
“Deputies observed the individual, at which point he observed the deputies,” an LASD spokesperson said Thursday night. “The individual then produced a handgun, and then began running southbound away from the deputies through businesses nearby. Deputies engaged in a short foot pursuit between the two businesses, at some point the deputies contacted the suspect and that’s when the deputy-involved shooting occurred.”
Guardado died at the scene.
Family members confronted deputies at the scene and told reporters they don’t believe Guardado was armed.
“I lost a part of me, it’s empty, and I’m never gonna have him back,” his sister told reporters. “I’m never gonna see him, he’s never gonna talk to me, I’m just, I can’t, I just can’t believe this happened to my brother. It really hurts me.”