A violent and chaotic incident took place in downtown Los Angeles early Sunday morning, when a man carrying a large machete caused panic and fear among people near the busy intersection of Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard. This area is close to the popular Crypto.com Arena, and at the time, many people were nearby.
According to local news station KABC, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) received several emergency calls reporting a man behaving aggressively and threatening people with a deadly weapon. When officers arrived, they found the man holding a huge machete and loudly chanting in the street.
Instead of calming down or surrendering, the man suddenly ran toward the police, holding the machete in a threatening way. Despite the dangerous situation, the officers showed restraint. They did not immediately use force and tried to handle the situation without firing their weapons.
But the man did not back down. Instead, he ran to a black Dodge Challenger, got in, and took off, leading the police on a short but tense car chase through downtown streets. Video taken by witnesses shows what happened next.
The man drove recklessly around the officers and eventually crashed into one of their patrol vehicles. He then stopped his car, stepped out while still holding the machete, and charged directly at the officers again.
This time, fearing for their safety, two police officers fired their weapons to stop the threat. The man was hit by gunfire and collapsed to the ground. Detective Meghan Aguilar, a spokesperson for the LAPD, spoke to KABC about the incident.
She confirmed that the man was transported to a local hospital and is currently in critical condition. “He was still armed with the machete and charged toward officers again, this time resulting in an officer-involved shooting,” Aguilar said. “That suspect was struck by gunfire and transported to a local hospital, where he is in critical condition but receiving medical care.”
Aguilar explained that officers are trained to assess threats and respond based on the seriousness of the danger. While the man did not have a gun, his machete was considered a deadly weapon. “You can only give so many warnings, and each officer has to make a decision based on their training and their experience when they constitute using deadly force.
In regards to whether it is a handgun or an edged weapon,” Aguilar said. “Again, this was a very large machete. The behaviors of the individual were very aggressive and violent.”
So far, police have not released the suspect’s identity. There has been no confirmation yet on whether the man was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or if he was suffering from mental health issues. Those are factors investigators will likely look into as part of their review of the incident.
Like all officer-involved shootings, this case will be investigated by the LAPD’s Force Investigation Division. Their job is to determine whether the officers acted within department policy and whether the use of force was justified. Body camera footage, witness accounts, and other evidence will be reviewed.
The LAPD emphasized that their officers tried to handle the situation peacefully at first. But when the suspect used his car to crash into a patrol vehicle and then charged officers with a machete for the second time, they believed their lives were in danger.
This frightening situation happened in a busy area where families, tourists, and workers were present, and it could have ended even worse. Luckily, no police officers or bystanders were hurt. The case remains open as investigators work to learn more about what led to the man’s erratic and dangerous actions.
This incident also serves as a reminder of how quickly dangerous encounters can develop on city streets. Police must often make split-second decisions in situations that put their own lives and the lives of others at risk. The LAPD said it will release more details once the investigation has progressed.
WATCH: A driver waving a machete near Crypto.com Arena was shot and injured by a Los Angeles police officer on Sunday morning. The incident was caught on video by witnesses watching from a nearby high-rise.
