A late-night standoff, with a man wielding what turned out to be a pellet gun resembling a police pistol, ended in an arrest by Hermosa Beach police.
The incident began about 2 a.m. Friday when officers received to a report of a man with a gun in the 1300 block of Hermosa Avenue.
Officers arrived about 10 seconds later and found a man standing in a crowd of people, pulling what appeared to be a Beretta handgun from his waistband, racking the slide back, and “wielding it at a citizen in a threatening manner,” Sgt. Robert Higgins said.
“Officers immediately confronted the suspect and ordered him to drop the handgun. The suspect did not initially comply, but he did not make any overt actions with the handgun. After repeated orders to drop the handgun, the suspect complied and was taken into custody,” Higgins said.
“The suspect and the bystanders apparently had an argument over a woman. It was later determined that the handgun the suspect wielded was a replica Beretta 92FS pistol, commonly carried by police and military. The orange safety paint and tip had been painted black,” Higgins said.
“Officers on-scene said if the suspect had made an overt act by pointing the gun at the crowd of bystanders or officers, the incident could have turned deadly,” he said.
The suspect, identified as a 22-year-old Lawndale man, was arrested on suspicion of displaying a replica firearm.
Police urged anyone with information about the incident to call Detective Sgt. Raul Saldana at 310-318-0351. ER
