! Alert
Fire & Windstorm Resources
Opens https://emergency.lacity.gov/recovery in a new window.311 Services
City Services
Opens https://myla311.lacity.org/ in a new window.LA Directory
City Directory
Opens https://lacity.gov/directory in a new window.March 16, 2025
Los Angeles: On March 14, 2025, around 10:20 pm, Southeast Patrol Division uniformed officers observed a vehicle driving erratically and conducted a traffic stop on Imperial Highway, east of Broadway. From behind their vehicle doors, the officers ordered the driver, later identified as 35-year-old Mario Sanchez, to lower his windows and to place his hands outside his vehicle. Sanchez yelled profanity at the officers and, moments later, exited his driver’s door. Sanchez faced the officers, removed a dark object from his waistband area, and quickly pointed it at them, resulting in an Officer-Involved Shooting (OIS). Sanchez was struck by gunfire and collapsed in the roadway. Upon the arrival of additional units, an arrest team was formed, and Sanchez was taken into custody.
Officers rendered medical aid to Sanchez until the arrival of Los Angeles Fire Department personnel, who after assuming care, transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
No officers or other community members were injured during this incident.
The object Sanchez pointed at the officers at the time of the OIS was later determined to be a cellphone.
Force Investigation Division (FID) investigators along with representatives from the California Department of Justice (DOJ) responded to the scene and are investigating this incident.
Call us 24/7 at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247) to share any helpful information you have.
Call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS
(800-222-8477) or submit an anonymous tip through our form.