A man with a bag over his hands followed an employee into a state office building in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, took “an aggressive shooting stance” and ordered workers to the ground…
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A man with a bag over his hands followed an employee into a state office building in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, took “an aggressive shooting stance” and ordered workers to the ground before an officer fatally shot him, authorities said.
The Ronald Reagan State Office Building, which houses a California appeals court, a regional office for Gov. Jerry Brown, the state insurance department, and several other state offices, was not open to the public when the shooting happened around 6 a.m.
The man was able to enter the building by following an employee who used their identification card to swipe into the building, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Saul Gomez said. The man “initially began yelling at the employees, stood in an aggressive shooting form, and he demanded people get down, ” Gomez said.
The man, who was carrying out-of-state identification, had briefly exchanged words with some of the employees, the sergeant said, but police would not provide any details about the conversation.
Investigators have determined he was not a current or former employee, but they are still trying to pin down a possible motive, Gomez said at a news conference in front of the building.
The employees began to get on the ground when a CHP officer, who was guarding the building, confronted the suspect and at least three shots were fired, Gomez said. The suspect, who police say is in his 40s, was shot and killed at the scene.
No one else was injured, and police have not recovered a gun at the scene, Gomez said.
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