A suspect was killed after exchanging gunfire with two security guards in the South Central area of Los Angeles Sunday morning, police said.
The shootout occurred around 7 a.m. near the intersection of Los Angeles Street and Washington Boulevard at what authorities are calling an “illegal party.”
“When we arrived at the location, we noticed that…to the east of us, there was what we call an illegal ‘casita’ or illegal party at this abandoned building,” said Captain Elaine Morales, Commanding Officer of the LAPD’s Central Division.
The suspect was deceased in the strip mall parking lot when they arrived, police said.
One security guard at the “casita” was transported to a local hospital with a gunshot wound.
Authorities believe that an altercation ensued after the suspect was either forced to leave the party or was refused entry to it.
“[From our understanding], the security guard was attempting to remove the individual that is deceased, and an altercation occurred,” said Central Division Watch Commander Sergeant II Anthony Farias.
According to Sergeant Farias, “casitas” are fairly common throughout Los Angeles and can be difficult to shut down.
“These happen all the time throughout the city,” he said. “A lot of the times, they are so underground that we don’t know about them, but when we do get information on them, we get our Vice unit involved and they are able to do their investigations and shut these things down.”
The deceased suspect has not been identified and the security guard’s condition is unknown.
