A man who was allegedly armed with a knife and fatally shot by at least one California Highway Patrol officer near the 10 Freeway in Santa Monica has been identified as a suspect wanted in the attempted homicide of his roommate, sheriff’s officials said Tuesday.
Gerardo Vasquez, 52, was wanted by the Simi Valley Police Department after his roommate was stabbed last Friday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. After the stabbing, Vasquez fled the scene and was considered armed and dangerous, according to sheriff’s officials.
The roommate, who has not been identified, survived the attack.
CHP officers caught up with Vasquez a few days later, about 12:20 a.m. on Monday after receiving calls about a man walking along the 10 Freeway near Centinela Avenue in Santa Monica, LASD officials reported.
Responding officers found Vasquez armed with a knife at the center median. Vasquez ran across lanes as officers approached him and eventually ran off an embankment and onto surface streets leading to an officer-involved shooting in the 3300 block of Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, according to LASD Lt. Joe Mendoza.
After the shooting Vasquez fell onto his side and allegedly yelled an expletive at officers. Officials said Vasquez raised a large knife over his shoulder and was in the process of throwing the knife toward the officers when a second officer-involved shooting occurred, sheriff’s officials said.
The knife landed near where the officers were standing and was later recovered, officials said.
One officer also used a less-lethal shotgun to fire bean bag rounds at the Vasquez.
Investigators said the incident appeared to be a “suicide by cop incident.”
No officers were injured in the shootings.
No other information was released.
The shootings remain under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the roommate was killed in the stabbing and the charges against the suspect. In fact, the roommate survived. The post has been updated.
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