A man sitting in a lawn chair outside a burning house in El Monte was shot by police Sunday night after officers say he was armed with multiple firearms, forcing firefighters to hold back down the street while the home burned. The confrontation unfolded in the 5100 block of Elrovia Avenue, just south of Peck Road Water Conservation Park, as the residence burned.
Emergency crews were first dispatched to the structure fire around 7 p.m. Sunday. Firefighters and police responded to reports of the blaze around 7 p.m., according to CBS Los Angeles, which reported that police found a man sitting in a lawn chair in the yard of the burning home.
Police said the man was armed with multiple firearms, according to the same CBS Los Angeles report. Firefighters reported that an exchange of gunfire occurred during the encounter, and the man was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital; his medical condition remained unknown as of the outlet's report. No officers or firefighters were injured during the incident, per the same account.
Firefighters Held Back While Flames Spread
Because of the threat posed by the armed man in the front yard, El Monte police directed county firefighters to stage down the street from the Elrovia Avenue home rather than move in to fight the fire, according to SGV CityWatch. Police also ordered firefighters to stay down the street until they were cleared to approach the scene, CBS Los Angeles reported. That kind of hold-back is standard procedure: fire and EMS staging protocols generally call for apparatus to park at least one to two blocks away or out of line-of-sight from reports of violence or an active shooter until officers give an all-clear, according to guidance published by Firefighter Nation.
The delay meant crews could not immediately begin suppression efforts, though the fire's origin has not been disclosed. It also is not known whether the man was the home's resident or homeowner.
Sheriff's Homicide Bureau Takes Over Investigation
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau responded to assist the El Monte Police Department in investigating the officer-involved shooting, according to MyNewsLA.com. The report described the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau's role as assisting with this investigation.
The case's status under California's state review process has not been established by the sources cited here. Under Assembly Bill 1506, passed in 2020, responsibility for investigating fatal police shootings was transferred from local authorities to the state attorney general, according to reporting by CalMatters. The sources cited here do not establish whether the state DOJ separately tracks critical incidents involving El Monte officers.
A City Still Marked by 2022 Tragedy
El Monte police Corporal Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana were shot and killed responding to a domestic disturbance at a local motel in June 2022, according to the Los Angeles Times. The incident is part of the department's history.
The cited Every City in the USA source does not establish El Monte's population, area or population density. The residential setting means gunfire in a yard can pose a risk to nearby neighbors. Sunday's shooting remains under investigation, and it is unclear whether the man's injuries stemmed entirely from the exchange of gunfire with police.
