On Tuesday, April 10, LAPD officers responded to reports of a knife-wielding suspect at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. Officers responded around 5:45 p.m. to a report of a man with a knife at the mall at 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., according to Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department. Footage surfaced on the internet and social media not soon after the incident where you can hear mall patrons screaming and running in fear after four gunshots are clearly heard being fired. Other footage, much closer to the incident, which took place on the second floor of the mall near a TJ Maxx store, shows the alleged suspect making erratic moves as LAPD closed in. They encountered the suspect and an officer-involved shooting occurred, Lopez said. The suspect was struck and was pronounced dead at the scene. A knife was recovered, Lopez said. The mall was closed as police investigated the shooting. A news photographer said he saw a male dead in he mentioned area. No officers or mall patrons were injured, according to Lopez.
