CERRITOS >> Deputies fatally shot a man after he struck a sheriff’s deputy with a car at a Cerritos intersection Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
The suspect, described only as a man, died at a hospital following the 5:14 p.m. deputy-involved shooting at Alondra Boulevard and Studebaker Road, just outside of Cerritos College, according to Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Information Bureau.
The deputy, assigned to the sheriff’s Cerritos Station, was patrolling through the parking lot of a 7-Eleven when he saw a white Acura Integra parked near a gas pump and checked the car’s license plate, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement. The car had been reported stolen in Whittier.
As the deputy approached the car, with the suspect sitting behind the wheel, he heard the engine start, officials said.
“At some point, the vehicle accelerated, struck the deputy, at which time, a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” according to the sheriff’s department statement.
The deputy was released from the hospital later in the day, officials said. The suspect, who succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, was not identified Wednesday.
Peter Serna, a student at nearby Cerritos College, said it appeared the deputy had the suspect pulled over before the shooting occurred. The deputy ordered the driver to get out of his car when the vehicle lunged forward.
“The man tried to strike the police officer with his car,” Serna said. “The officer fired five shots and then they tried performing CPR on the man.”
It appeared the suspect’s car struck the deputy’s hip or leg, Serna said.
California Highway Patrol officials shut down the Alondra Boulevard offramps from the 605 Freeway, as well as the westbound 91 Freeway connector road to the northbound 605 Freeway, as deputies continued their investigation Wednesday evening.
The fatal deputy-involved shooting took place one day after a man was shot to death in a suspected gang-related shooting at a 7-Eleven store at the same intersection, but across the city border in Norwalk, Lt. Victor Lewandowski of the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said.
The identity of Tuesday afternoon’s shooting victim was not released Wednesday.
Investigators described the killers as two Latino men in their late-teens to early-20s. Lewandowski said a dark-colored Chevrolet sedan and a white SUV-type vehicle were seen leaving the area following the gunfire.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.