The Los Angeles Police Department says it is investigating a fatal shooting of an 18-year-old black man involved in a stolen car chase.
The shooting happened Saturday afternoon after police began pursuit of a car police say had paper license plates and thought to be stolen. The car then slowed to a stop and two black men exited and ran in different directions. Officers split up and gave chase.
A police officer, whose name has not been released, shot and killed one of the men two blocks away.
The man was identified by relatives as Carnell Snell Jr., according to the Los Angeles Times.
Update: South L.A. teen fatally shot by LAPD identified as Carnell Snell Jr., crowds gather for protest https://t.co/QjQeL70qri pic.twitter.com/CaYzW1tZXK
— KTLA (@KTLA) October 2, 2016
According to the LAPD’s Twitter account, a gun was recovered on the scene. The other man who fled the car has not been found, police say.
#LAPD OIS: After a pursuit of a stolen vehicle, an OIS occurred in area of 107th & Western at about 1 pm, gun recovered at scene.
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) October 1, 2016
Demonstrators gathered in South Los Angeles Saturday evening, protesting the shooting.
The incident follows a string of other police shootings in recent years that have left black men dead, including cases in Charlotte, N.C.; Ferguson, Mo.; and Baltimore, Md., which has brought attention to a souring relationship between African-Americans and law enforcement and has sparked protests in cities across the country.
