1 dead after shootout with security guards in South L.A., police say

Yellow police tape in the foreground and a warehouse with graffiti in the background.
Police at the scene of a fatal shooting involving two security guards in South Los Angeles on Sunday. (KTLA)

One person was killed and a security guard was wounded Sunday morning following a shootout in South L.A., according to police.

An armed security guard was trying to remove a man from a location near Washington Boulevard and Los Angeles Street about 7 a.m. when an argument broke out, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The man pulled out a shotgun and fired at the security guard. A second security guard returned fire, a spokesperson for LAPD said.

The gunman died at the scene, police said. The wounded security guard was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. KTLA reported the security guard was hit in the leg.

The TV station also reported that the incident was said to have occurred outside an "illegal 'casita.'"

The Times recently reported on the casitas — Spanish for "little houses." The illegal gambling dens — hidden in homes, warehouses and storefronts — have been targeted by law enforcement authorities, who say the sites are magnets for violence.

Los Angeles police say they are looking for two gunmen who shot and killed a security guard at a gambling den in North Hollywood on May 31.

On Sunday, a woman was detained at the scene, but there was no immediate information about her connection to the incident, a spokesperson for the LAPD said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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