A Black man was shot and killed by police in Los Angeles Monday afternoon, the LA County Sheriffs Department confirmed, stoking new protests amid fresh anger over police brutality in the U.S.
In a tweet Monday evening the LA County Sheriffs Department said the incident happened just after 3 p.m.
According to the sheriff’s department, the man was riding a bike when tried to stop him for a vehicle code violation.
However, they said the man ran from the scene. When deputies caught up to him later, a fight ensued.
“Our suspect was holding some items of clothing in his hand, punched one of the officers in the face and then dropped the items in his hands,” Lt. Brandon Dean said during a press conference Monday evening.
“The deputies noticed that inside the clothing items that he dropped was a black semi-automatic handgun at which time a deputy-involved shooting occurred.”
The man, identified by police only as a Black man in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“We do know that the suspect was struck several times, however we are unaware of exactly where as we have not been able to move the body yet because we were waiting for the coroner’s office,” Dean said.
According to Dean, both deputies involved in the incident fired their weapons, but neither were injured.
Local media confirmed with family members the victim was Dijon Kizzee, who was also identified by the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement on social media.
In an earlier tweet, the chapter said police had “killed a Black man” and had “left his body facedown in the dirt.”
“We need all hands on deck,” the tweet reads. “Please get here ASAP!”
By Monday evening a crowd had formed near the scene, and continued to grow through the night. Many of the protesters were seen confronting deputies keeping a perimeter around the crime scene.
With files from Sean Boynton