Armed man is shot dead by police at downtown L.A. Metro station; 7th Street entrance at Figueroa closed

LAPD officers shot and killed an armed man at a Metro subway platform in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The incident began shortly before 7 a.m. at the Metro station on 7th Street near Figueroa Street, said Officer Drake Madison, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. The department said on social media that the man was killed and that no officers were injured.

A man with a knife, who was approached by fare inspectors at the station entrance by the Blue Line platform, lunged at a Metro security guard, a law enforcement official said. LAPD arrived and shot the man with a Taser before firing lethal bullets, the law enforcement source said.

Madison could not confirm the man had been shot with a Taser, but said officers used a “less-than-lethal option” that was unsuccessful in de-escalating the situation.

Officers recovered a knife at the scene, police said.

Metro said in a tweet that the station entrance at 7th Street and Figueroa was closed, but the station remained open. Riders are being asked to access the station at the Flower and Hope street entrances.

The Expo and Blue line trains are sharing one platform, causing only minimal delays, Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said.