A 31-year-old man was fatally shot by sheriff's deputies after leading authorities on a foot pursuit Thursday night in Compton.
The shooting occurred at 8:28 p.m. in the area of West Arbutus Street and Kemp Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies encountered a man standing on the sidewalk in the 400 block of Wilmington Avenue, authorities said.
When deputies approached him, the man produced a handgun and ran northbound on Wilmington, leading to a chase on foot.
The deputies caught up with the man in the wash near the intersection of Arbutus Street and Kemp Avenue. When the man pointed his handgun at one of the deputies, one of them shot at the man, one deputy said.
The man, described by deputies as a black male, was dead at the scene.
The deputies were not injured.
Friends and family of the victim have since identified the man as 31-year-old Donta Taylor.
One friend told NBC4 that Taylor left for a local convienent store Thursday night, and never made it home.
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One resident, Lyndon Bailey, said he heard the shooting happen.
"I thought people was shooting like it was a shootout between someone," he said. "That's what it sounded like to me."
LaToya Hunt, a mother of four who lives in Compton, said children were outside when it took place.
"When I came outside the kids were already running down the street and one of the little boys even said he heard the officer say something along the lines of you know, get down, or stop or we're gonna shoot you, and this little boy had to be under the age of 10," Hunt said.
A sheriff's deputy K-9 was assisting in the search for the suspect's handgun in the wash and the surrounding area.
The gun had still not been recovered around 12 p.m. Friday. Police advised that if anyone finds a weapon in the area where the shooting took place not to touch it, and to notify the sheriff's department immediately.
A candlelight vigil was scheduled for Taylor on the 800 Block of Arbutus Street at 7 p.m. Friday.
