UPDATE: Meat Cleaver Wielding Man Shot By Long Beach Police Officer on Thanksgiving

A 45-year-old man refused to drop a meat cleaver and was shot by a Long Beach police officer, who was investigating an assault reported by the same person.

The officer was assisting firefighters in the 300 block of Sunset Street, who had been called there by a man reporting an assault, Long Beach police Sgt. Megan Zabel said. The man was identified by police as Hung Doan Nguyen.

When the officer arrived, Nguyen allegedly came out of a residence and confronted the officer with a meat cleaver, according to police. The officer gave Nguyen several commands to drop the meat cleaver, Nguyen refused and was shot.

The victim, now a suspect, was taken to a hospital with stable vital signs, Zabel said. The officer was not hurt.

A meat cleaver was located at the scene and Nguyen was to be booked for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer, police said.

“It was determined that Nguyen was the original calling party and described to the dispatcher he had been the victim of an assault and required paramedics,” according a police report.

“The assault Nguyen reported is still under investigation. At this time we have not been able to determine the circumstances, or locate any witnesses, in regards to Nguyen’s reported assault.”

Long Beach police homicide detectives and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office were investigating the shooting, Zabel said.

Homicide detectives asked anyone with information regarding the initial assault to call them at (562) 570-7244.

City News Service