The Los Angeles Police Department is currently probing into an officer-involved shooting that transpired in the Hollenbeck Division, as reported by the LAPD Newsroom. On the night of March 31, 2024, officers on patrol encountered an abandoned vehicle, which was shortly followed by sounds of gunfire near Mariachi Plaza, leading to a confrontation with an armed individual.
During the incident, which occurred at around 10:15 pm, officers attempted to investigate the stopped pick-up truck when the gunfire erupted and caused them to proceed towards the plaza, where they ran into two males one of whom was 18-year-old Gabriel Gomez, he was holding a firearm at the time. The officers commanded Gomez to drop to the ground, but he ignored their orders and continued to run toward them, resulting in the officers discharging their weapons.
Gomez was fortunate to escape injury and absconded through the plaza on foot, though the authorities managed to apprehend him a block away from the scene without further escalation of violence, the LAPD statement says nobody was injured in the incident, including officers or bystanders.
The second male who accompanied Gomez at the outset remains missing, even after a thorough search was undertaken by the officers. Recovered from the location was a loaded 9mm semiautomatic Polymer 80 Ghost Gun along with a spent shell casing that seemed to substantiate witness accounts of Gomez's involvement in a shooting and his subsequent arrest for shooting at an inhabited dwelling, his arrest record shows his booking number as 6784726.
The LAPD’s Force Investigation Division has since taken up the case, delving into all facets of the shooting as they review evidence and gather statements. This ongoing investigation is paramount to piecing together the events of that night, ensuring a transparent and comprehensive understanding of the circumstances that led to the dangerous confrontation.
