CHP Officers Shoot And Kill 21-Year-Old Driver In Winnekta

WINNETKA, CA — California Highway Patrol Officers shot and killed a man early Wednesday morning in Winnetka, ending a chase that began in Northridge.

The chase began at about 2:30 a.m. in the 7200 block of Sunnybrae Avenue where California Highway Patrol officers attempted to stop a man in a work van. The driver attempted to flee, but he turned into a cul-de-sac and got out of the van holding a handgun, Fox 11 reported.

That's when the officers shot the man.

A CHP spokesperson refused to say why officers chased the driver in the first place Wednesday. Public information officers for both the CHP and the Los Angeles Police Department declined to release any details about the shooting Wednesday evening. Both claimed the other agency was handling the investigation.

According to NBC Los Angeles, the man's family said he was a 21-year-old driving his father's work van when police pursued him. He lived in the area where he was killed. Neighbors reported hearing several shots fired.

"There was a crash, and I heard officers shouting, 'Get on the ground, get on the ground,'" witness Stuart Smith told NBC. "And then, must have been about, I think, about 16 shots."