About 11:30 p.m., Long Beach officers saw a man with a knife walking near the Santa Fe Avenue onramp. CHP officers were called and encountered the man walking on the 405 Freeway just after midnight and tried to get him to drop the knife. The man fled instead of surrendering. About 5 minutes later, the man was located on the 710 Freeway. Officers again tried to get the man to drop the large kitchen knife. A standoff began for about 30 minutes with the man continuing to act erratically. The man allegedly lunged at officers with knife in hand, and officers shot and killed him.
Victim's Name: Ruben Escarrega
Agency Responsible: California Highway Patrol
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Race: Hispanic
Date of Death: May 8, 2020
County: Los Angeles
Cause of Death: Gunshot
Official Disposition: Pending investigation/No Known Charges
Criminal Charges: No known charges
Mental Illness: Unknown
Armed: Allegedly Armed
Weapon: knife
Threat Level: other
Fleeing: Not fleeing
Body Camera: No
Washington Post Database ID: 5800