Los Angeles police shot dead a Sikh man near the Crypto.com Arena while he was performing Gatka, a traditional form of martial arts.
The deceased Sikh man was identified as 36-year-old Gurpreet Singh.
According to media reports, the man, who was wielding a khanda (a traditional sword), was shot dead by officers in downtown Los Angeles after he refused to comply and allegedly tried to attack the officers.
The incident reportedly occurred on 13 July.
The officers responded after several 911 callers informed them that a Sikh man had stopped his car in the middle of a busy intersection, got out of it, and was swinging his machete at people.
“Officers gave multiple commands for Singh to drop the weapon,” said police in an update as quoted by ABC7.
“However, he failed to comply. Singh then returned to his vehicle, retrieved a water bottle, and threw it at the officers,” the police said.
Police told the news channel that officers then initiated a brief pursuit in which Singh “drove erratically” and crashed into an officer’s vehicle.
Police said Singh stopped near Figueroa and 12th Streets and charged at the cops with the machete.
Singh was then shot by the police and taken to a hospital, where he later died.
The shooting incident remains under investigation.
No injuries were reported.
