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Man armed with chain shot by police
A deadly officer-involved shooting is under investigation in Watts.
SOUTH LOS ANGELES, Calif. - A suspect swinging a metal chain at passing vehicles in Watts was shot and killed by police, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
At around noon Tuesday, Southeast Division officers responded to a radio call of an assault with a deadly weapon suspect in the area of Kalmia and 103rd streets.
According to police, the caller indicated the suspect, later identified as 56-year-old Hugo Polanco, was "using wires as a whip and attempting to hit passersby."
Once officers arrived on scene, they encountered Polanco who was holding a cluster of metal wires, approximately seven and a half feet in length.
Officers ordered him to drop the wires. The police department said he initially complied but then picked the wires up again.
An officer deployed a 40mm Less Lethal Launcher. Polanco, while gripping the wires, then charged at the officers and brought them "over his shoulder in a whipping motion," the police department said in a statement.
Another officer fired additional 40mm Less Lethal Launcher rounds, but apparently those were ineffective and eventually an officer-involved shooting occurred.
Polanco was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. No other injuries were reported.
The Source: This article is based on information from the Los Angeles Police Department.