The Los Angeles Police Department is in the midst of an investigation following an officer-involved shooting in the Hollenbeck Division, according to reports from the department's newsroom. The incident, which took place near Mariachi Plaza on March 31, 2024, at roughly 10:15 p.m., began with officers responding to an unoccupied truck that was idling in the middle of the road. While attempting to investigate, the officers reportedly came under gunfire.
As detailed in a release from the LAPD Newsroom, their investigation led them to engage with two male individuals—one of whom, 18-year-old Gabriel Gomez, was seen holding a firearm. The officers commanded Gomez to drop to the ground, but he chose instead to run in their direction, prompting the officers to hastily open fire. Gomez, however, was not hit and continued to flee the scene on foot.
Gomez was subsequently apprehended a block away from the plaza, after a chase by the officers, and no injuries were reported according to the Hoodline report. The other individual who was spotted with Gomez remains at large. In the aftermath, officers discovered a 9mm semi-automatic Polymer 80 Ghost Gun with a live round lodged in the chamber, in addition to a single spent shell casing retracing back to Gomez's path of flight.
Gomez now faces charges of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and was booked under Booking No. 6784726. The LAPD's Force Investigation Division has since taken the reins to meticulously piece together the puzzle of that night's events. The investigation is framed by the department as ongoing, with the possibility of new revelations as more evidence is collected and analyzed. This incident, as such, adds to the ongoing discourse surrounding police conduct in volatile situations and arms proliferation in urban communities.
