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LAPD officers fatally shoot man with tree trimmer in Boyle Heights

The fatal shooting occurred in a quiet Boyle Heights neighborhood. Police said the man failed to comply with orders to drop…

The Los Angeles Police Department is continuing its investigation into an officer-involved shooting that involved a man holding a tree trimmer.

The shooting occurred shortly before 10 a.m. Monday in the 600 block of Gillett Street, not far from Prospect Park.

LAPD officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to a radio call of a “violent male with mental illness who was armed with a metal pipe in the area,” according to a police statement.

Upon arrival, the officers located the man and noticed he was armed with a large tree trimmer, topped with an serrated blade, approximately 12 inches long, police said.

“He failed to comply with orders to drop the pole and continued advancing towards officers,” the statement read.

Police said at some point an officer-involved shooting occurred. The man was struck by gunfire, though the department did not say how many times. Officers provided medical attention to the injured man until fire paramedics arrived.

The man was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

No officers or community members were injured.

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