Inglewood police fatally shoot bloody man with ax

By WIRE SERVICES

Story Published: Mar 28, 2010 at 7:04 PM PDT

INGLEWOOD -- The 43-year-old Los Angeles who was killed in a fatal officer-involved shooting in an Inglewood market after he lunged at officers with an ax has been identified, the Los Angeles coroner said.

Mario Jaramillo had been stabbing himself with a knife and was fatally shot by two Inglewood police officers, according to the Inglewood Police Department.

Inglewood police would not, however, confirm the victim's name or age or where he was from.

The fatal officer-involved-shooting occurred about 9:30 p.m., Saturday at City Farm Market, 10801 Prairie Ave., Inglewood police Lt. Oscar Serrano said.

Inglewood police were called to the store by market employees, who said a man confronted a worker with a knife and said "he killed people,'' Serrano said.

The suspect allegedly tried to stab the worker, then walked away, Serrano said. Officers sealed off the market and began searching for the man. Police followed a trail of blood to a walk-in refrigerator in the warehouse, where they found blood.

As officers were preparing to enter the walk-in refrigerator, the suspect allegedly exited the refrigerator holding an ax, Serrano said. The suspect then allegedly raised the ax over his head and lunged toward officers.

Two officers opened fire on the man, who died at the scene, Serrano said.

The dead man's name was unavailable early Sunday.

An Inglewood watch commander said he didn't know if the man was homeless or had a history of mental illness. Officers recovered an ax and a knife at the scene.

The two officers who fired their weapons were identified as Sgt. John Knapp, a 28-year veteran, and Sgt. Greg Held, a 9-year veteran.

Inglewood police began separate criminal and administrative investigations of the shooting.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's officer-involved shooting team also was investigating.

Inglewood Police Officer Adam Butler said police were not releasing any other information.

There have been at least three officer-involved shootings in Inglewood in the past two years. The Los Angeles Times reported that Inglewood police shot and killed 11 people, five of them unarmed, between 2003 and 2009.

From: http://www.wavenewspapers.com/news/local/west-edition/89370307.html