LAPD officers fatally shoot woman armed with a dumbbell bar

Los Angeles police on Sunday fatally shot a woman in Tarzana who was suspected of attacking several people with a metal dumbbell bar over the weekend, according to officials.

The woman, who was in her 30s, assaulted four people Sunday, LAPD officials tweeted Sunday night. They sustained serious head and face injuries, and two remained hospitalized in stable condition late Sunday evening.

On Saturday, her suspected victims included two males who were struck with a metal bar, one in the head and the other in the arm. Both declined medical treatment. The other two, a mother and her child, were parked inside a vehicle when the suspect smashed the windows, police said.

When officers arrived around 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Reseda Boulevard and Hatteras Street, they encountered a woman holding a 14-inch metal bar, said Officer Rosario Cervantes, an LAPD spokesperson.

A woman who was fatally shot Sunday by Los Angeles police used a metal dumbbell bar as a weapon, authorities said.

(Los Angeles Police Department)

During the confrontation, near the parking lot of a gas station, the woman advanced toward the officers while holding the bar, according to police. Officers deployed a stun gun and fired a “nonlethal foam round” before shooting the woman, police said.

The suspect later died at a hospital, police said. She has not been identified.

No officers were injured during the encounter.

“This is an ongoing investigation as detectives will review body-worn video, any surveillance video and interview witnesses and involved officers,” the LAPD tweeted.

In a statement Monday, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass called the incident a “devastating tragedy” that highlights the need for mental health services for people in crisis.

The statement also referenced efforts started by Bass and LAPD Chief Michel Moore to expand the capabilities of the department’s Mental Evaluation Unit and Systemwide Mental Assessment Team.

“We have taken concrete steps toward these goals, but clearly as made evident over the weekend, more must be done,” Bass said.

Times staff writers Jack Dolan and Jeremy Childs contributed to this report.