Police officers shoot and kill Los Angeles security guard: 'He ran because he was scared'

After sheriff’s deputies chased and shot dead a security guard at an auto repairs shop in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, family members have identified the dead man to local media as Andres Guardado, 18.

The killing came amid national protest and unrest over the deaths of African Americans, and other people of color, at the hands of law enforcement.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles county sheriff’s deputies also shot dead Terron Jammal Boone, 31, who the department said was “the half-brother of Robert Fuller, who [was] discovered hanging from a tree on 10 June 2020 and is currently the subject of a death investigation”.

Describing the Thursday shooting of Guardado at the auto shop, a police department spokesman told reporters deputies saw the man produce a handgun before running away.

“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,” the spokesman said, adding that it was not immediately clear how many officers were fired.

Andrew Heney, owner of the Freeway autoshop, told a local CBS affiliate: “We had a security guard that was out front, because we had just 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.”

The sheriff’s department said a handgun was found where the man, who died at the scene, was shot. Family members disputed that Guardado was armed. It was not clear if he had been wearing a uniform.

Guardado’s sister told reporters: “I lost a part of me, it’s empty, and I’m never gonna have him back. 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.”