A 28-year-old man was shot to death in an officer-involved shooting in Downey, authorities said Sunday.
Officers were dispatched about 6:15 p.m. Saturday to a call of a disturbance in the 7100 block of Stewart and Gray Road, the Downey Police Department reported.
"Officers arrived on scene and during their investigation, an officer-involved shooting occurred,'' according to a police statement. “A male subject was shot and died from his injuries.”
Relatives identified the victim as Alberto Nicolas Arenas. They also said he suffered from mental illness.
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“We called and we told them (police), he was in the yard. He wasn’t out on the street. He was in our own house," said the victim’s mom.
Arenas parents told NBCLA their son was not hurting anyone and the incident had started over an argument he was having over some fireworks with the neighbor.
"My son didn’t touch him. He didn’t hit them. He didn’t do anything to them."Witnesses said the man was lighting fireworks in the backyard and got into an argument with a neighbor before being fatally shot by a responding officer.
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No officers were hurt and no other injuries were reported.
Downey police reported that the California Department of Justice was handling the investigation.
Anyone with information regarding the incident was urged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org.
