NORWALK (CBSLA) — A Norwalk family is left searching for answers after their beloved husband, father and grandfather was killed in a deputy-involved shooting on Thursday.
Pedro Lopez. (Source: Lopez Family)
Pedro Lopez, 67, was standing in his yard when he was killed after the shooting broke out in front of his home. Authorities revealed him to be an innocent bystander in the incident on Friday
Circumstances surrounding the event are still unclear, notably the information on which party fired the bullet that killed Lopez.
The incident began at around 7 p.m. Thursday on Foster Road in Norwalk, when Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies approached a suspect that was reportedly wanted for a recent carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon. When they tried to take him into custody, he produced a handgun, prompting deputies to open fire on him several times as he tried to flee, the sheriff’s department said.
The suspect, who’s identity still has yet to be revealed, then broke into a home. Several residents who were inside at the time were able to get out safely. A SWAT team was called in, nearby homes were evacuated and a standoff ensued. He was arrested after authorities barged into the home at around 1:30 a.m.
Lopez’s family is asking why it had to be their home that the suspect chose to hide from authorities. They detailed the tragic events that took one of their own to CBS reporters.
“Who are you?,” they asked the suspect.
He only responded with, “‘I’m shot. I’m hurt. Just call the police,’” as recounted by Lopez’s granddaughter.
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“By the time he told me to call the police, I asked him ‘Where’s my Grandpa?’ like three times. By the third time he told me, ‘He’s outside,’” she continued.
“I never thought that my grandpa was going to be on the side – lying there.”
It isn’t entirely clear at what point during the standoff that authorities located Lopez on the side yard of his home, suffering from what they described as, “trauma to his upper torso.”
(Source: CBS)
A statement released by LACSD stated, “During the initial investigation, it was determined the deceased victim was struck by gunfire in the upper torso area. Detectives collected evidence at the scene and are awaiting ballistic testing to determine the source of the fired bullet that struck the victim who was determined to be an uninvolved bystander.”
Lopez’s daughter, Maria, detailed the final phone call between herself and her father that evening, “I just heard him say, ‘You can’t go in there.’ I heard a couple shots. I heard my father run. I heard him fall. I heard him take a couple breaths, and then the call dropped.”
“He was just a great guy – happy,” Maria said. “The last thing he said to me was he loved me.”
Now, the California Department of Justice is investigating the incident, as they do with all law enforcement-involved shootings, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1506, which require the AG to investigate law enforcement shootings that result in the death of unarmed civilians.
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No deputies were wounded in the incident.