LAPD investigation continues into fatal New Year's Eve shooting by off-duty ICE agent
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In the days since an off-duty U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a man who federal officials said was firing a weapon in a Northridge apartment complex, Los Angeles police officials have offered few details about the events leading up to the deadly New Year’s Eve encounter.Deputy LAPD Chief Alan Hamilton said the incident is being investigated by the Robbery-Homicide Division, which handles all shootings by officers from outside law enforcement agencies.
On the federal side, he said, the case is being handled by the FBI, the U.S.Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations.A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said after the incident that the ICE agent was responding to an “active shooter situation” at his apartment complex, but the lack of injuries to anyone else at the scene and statements from neighbors have fueled speculation that the man may have been ringing in the new year by shooting a gun into the air.Hamilton said it was “too early to tell” if that was the case.He said police detectives haven’t yet spoken with the agent involved to get his version of events due to protocols on how deadly force investigations are conducted with federal law enforcement officers.“We won’t interview them for days,” Hamilton said of the ICE agent.Authorities have not identified the man who was killed or the agent responsible.After the incident, Homeland Security officials released a brief statement that said the agent opened fire “In order to protect his life and that of others.”“He was forced to defensively use his weapon and exchanged gunfire with the shooter,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary of public affairs, adding that the ICE agent contacted police afterward.The Village Pointe complex where the shooting happened is a large span of two-story “apartment homes” tucked ...