LA County detectives investigating man's death at Lucille's Smokehouse in Cerritos
An investigation is underway in Cerritos, where a man who was allegedly armed with a knife was fatally shot by a customer inside a barbecue restaurant on Sunday afternoon.
Deputies were called to the 11000 block of South Street at around 2:15 p.m., where there were reports of a man armed with a knife at Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que in the Promenade Cerritos shopping center, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials told CBS LA.
The victim of the incident was declared dead at the scene by Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics, who were initially called to the area for reports of a gunshot wound victim, according to a department spokesperson. Deputies said he was found suffering from gunshot wounds and lacerations.
A witness told CBS LA that a man walked into the restaurant and began stabbing himself. Deputies later confirmed with CBS LA that a customer inside the restaurant shot the suspect, who was allegedly armed with a knife, after he began to cause chaos. He allegedly ran through the kitchen and service areas, frightening both customers and staff, an updated news release from LASD said.
"A lady was saying, 'He's got a knife, he's got a knife," a witness who wished to remain anonymous told CBS LA. "Then he started dipping and dodging in between the lines, and then you hear two shots."
LASD officials say that the suspect, who remains publicly unidentified, was confronted by the customer, who was "lawfully armed and possessed a valid concealed carry permit."
"The customer ordered the male adult to drop the knife. The male adult then charged toward the customer while still armed with the knife, and the customer discharged their firearm," the release said.
Deputies say that the man who shot the suspect remained at the scene to fully cooperate with their investigation.
LASD officials also said that a crash at a nearby Starbucks, just across the intersection of South Street and Gridley Road, was also connected to the ongoing investigation. They did not provide further details, but witnesses say the suspect drove recklessly through the parking lot just moments earlier.
"He almost hit somebody, and then he ended up parking his car, or leaving his car in this plaza here, and running out with a knife in his hand," said Magaly Zacarias, who works in the shopping center. "All I saw was blood on the steering wheel and blood on the side of the door."
Aerial footage of the crash scene showed a red pickup truck stopped near the outdoor fountain, which is just outside the Starbucks. A large area was blocked off by police tape. Footage from SkyCal over the Lucille's showed nearly half a dozen LASD patrol cars surrounding the restaurant.
Witnesses say that the red truck was allegedly stolen by the suspect from a nearby mall, and that the vehicle's owner later tried to retrieve it, but they were denied by detectives as their investigation continued.
