Man holding airsoft gun shot and killed by LAPD in South LA identified

LAPD shoots and kills man in South LA

A 19-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday after police say he answered the door holding a rifle.

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles police officers responding to a family dispute fatally shot a man holding an airsoft rifle Saturday in the Vermont Knolls area of South L.A.

Officers were called about 1:20 p.m. to a home at Grand Avenue and 102nd Street on a report of a family dispute, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison told City News Service.

"When a man exited the residence holding a black rifle, an officer-involved shooting occurred," Madison said.

The suspect was identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office as Luis Herrera, 19, of Los Angeles.

Herrera was pronounced dead at the scene, and no other injuries were reported.

Detectives said early Saturday that they weren't sure if the rifle the man was allegedly holding was a real gun or an airsoft gun.

"We do not know if the rifle… is potentially a rifle or an airsoft gun," said LAPD Detective Rebecca Aguilar. "It is extremely realistic."

Detectives say the rifle doesn’t appear to have the usual safety orange barrel for mock guns.

There was a delay in processing the evidence due to LAPD needing to wait for the coroner to attend to the body first.

By Saturday night, LAPD confirmed that the weapon they collected was, in fact, an airsoft gun, but no other information was available.

Gun man was holding when he was shot by police was an airsoft gun: LAPD

A 19-year-old man was shot and killed in South Los Angeles Saturday after LAPD says he answered the door with a rifle in hand. Police confirmed Saturday night that that gun was in fact an airsoft gun.

No one else in the home during the domestic situation was harmed, Detectives add the bodycam for the shooting will be released per LAPD protocol.

South Los Angeles Crime and Public Safety