Deputy Shoots Man Armed With Knives On Metro Expo Line Platform In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) — A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy shot a man armed with two large knives on a Metro Expo Line platform in Santa Monica Tuesday.

The shooting was reported at 12:55 p.m. at the Downtown Santa Monica Station at Fourth Street and Colorado Boulevard, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

Lt. Joe Mendoza said the suspect had a knife in his right hand when he walked aggressively toward two deputies who were on the station platform.

"The suspect lunged towards the deputies, and there was a struggle over the knife. At which time, he produced a second knife. And during the struggle, a deputy-involved shooting occurred," Mendoza told reporters at the scene.

One deputy fired a single shot that struck the suspect in the torso, according to the sheriff's department.

The suspect, described only as a white man, was hospitalized in critical condition but was expected to survive, according to Ramon Montenegro of the sheriff's Transit Police Division.

Buses were brought in to transport rail passengers between the intersection of Fifth Street and Broadway and the 17th Street/Santa Monica College Station until the station was reopened about 8 p.m., according to Metro.