The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released body camera video that authorities say shows deputies shooting a man after he stabbed one of the deputies in a Lancaster parking lot.
The fatal confrontation occurred on June 20 after deputies responded to a 911 call.
The suspect, identified as Robert Castro, is seen in the footage walking away from the deputies and across a parking lot, according to authorities.
“Hey, I just want to make a report of a guy with some knives, swinging them in public,” the caller told a dispatcher, according to an audio recording released by the Sheriff’s Department.
According to authorities, the situation escalated rapidly when deputies arrived at the scene near Sierra Highway and Lancaster Boulevard.
“Before Deputy #1’s patrol vehicle came to a stop, Castro turned and rapidly walked in the deputy’s direction,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
The confrontation that followed was captured on bodycam footage.
“Castro then ran at Deputy #1, drew a knife, stabbed the deputy, and Deputy #1 discharged his service weapon.”
A second deputy also opened fire and then checked on the other deputy, who was bleeding from a stab wound, authorities said.
According to investigators, the body camera video shows Castro removing a knife from his pocket before the stabbing.
Authorities said Castro was in possession of three knives at the time of the incident.
Castro’s actions at the scene formed the key sequence captured by the deputies’ bodycams.
“We are grateful that our deputy sustained non-life-threatening injuries and will be returning home to their loved ones,” a statement from Sheriff Robert Luna said.
“Incidents like this are a stark reminder that every day, law enforcement professionals like our Deputies step into unpredictable and rapidly evolving situations in service to protecting our communities.”
The deputy’s injuries from the stabbing were treated at a hospital but did not prove life-threatening.
The California Attorney General’s office has now taken up the case for independent review.
“Following notification of this incident, DOJ’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team initiated an investigation in accordance with AB1506 mandates,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a statement.
After the investigation by the state’s Department of Justice is complete, it will be turned over to the department’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review, the news release said.
In the viral moment captured on June 20 in Lancaster, deputies had been dispatched after a 911 caller reported a man brandishing and swinging knives in a public parking lot near the Metrolink station. When three sheriff’s patrol vehicles arrived at the location near Sierra Highway and Lancaster Boulevard, surveillance video shows Castro initially walking away from the arriving deputies across the parking lot. But before the first deputy’s vehicle came to a complete stop, Castro turned sharply and rapidly walked toward the vehicle. He then ran directly at the deputy, drew a knife from his pocket, and stabbed the uniformed officer. The wounded deputy immediately discharged his service weapon in response, and a second deputy arriving at the scene also opened fire moments later. Castro was struck by gunfire and transported to a hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The injured deputy was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening stab wounds.
The state Department of Justice investigation remains ongoing.