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Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting Reported Downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  —  A deadly officer-involved shooting has been reported in downtown Los Angeles.

The shooting occurred just after 5 p.m. near Sixth and Mateo Street.

Officer Involved Shooting
Moments before LAPD officers fatally shot a suspect downtown Saturday. (credit: Carrie Kravetz)

Police were reportedly called to the area in response to a shirtless man who was shooting a weapon into the air.

KCAL9's Cristy Fajardo spoke to Carrie Kravetz, a woman who came within 15 feet of the deadly shooting.

"I was scared for my life," Kravetz said.

Kravetz' photo shows just close she was from the alleged gunman.

She told Fajardo she was driving out of her building's garage when she saw the gun.

"A security guard said, get back, get back. But my car was in neutral and it made a loud sound. I thought he was going to turn and shoot me," said Kravetz.

Eddie Bustamante was also nearby 7th and Mateo at around 5 p.m.

He says in the minutes leading up to this photo, the suspect fired a round into the air. He said the man even tried to get into a stranger's car.

At one point he says the man put the gun down but when police arrived he picked it up again.

"He walked around, picked up up the gun and waived it and said things like 'blow my head off' and 'closed casket." said Bustamante.

Bustamante says when the man waived the gun he realized he and his girlfriend were in the suspect's line of fire.

Police were yelling to put the gun down

"I was scared I was going to get shot," he said.

It wasn't until the man pointed the gun at officers a second time that Bustamante says police opened fire.

"I think he wanted the police to kill him because he never fired at them and he could have," Bustamante said.

No officers were injured in the shooting.

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