Patrol officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division shot and killed a suspect on May 9 who stabbed his mother to death and charged the officers when they confronted him.

The officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon in progress call around 1:20 p.m. in the 1500 block of South Arapahoe Street. When officers arrived, they were met by 85-year-old Maria Gonzalez, who was screaming for help and suffering from an injury to her hand.

Gonzalez told officers that her grandson, 36-year-old Hector Hernandez, walked into his 60-year-old mother’s bedroom unannounced and cut her throat. As he left the bedroom, he cut and injured Gonzalez’s hand. She then ran downstairs and out the front door.

Officers entered the home and found the suspect’s mother inside her bedroom, unresponsive and suffering from multiple stab wounds. They moved her outside to provide medical treatment and began searching the property. Upon searching the backyard, they heard screams coming from a rear guesthouse and were confronted by the suspect, who had slashed his own throat and was bleeding profusely. He charged at the four officers, each of whom shot Hernandez one time, striking him in the abdomen and chest. The officers took the suspect into custody and called for medical assistance, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect’s mother, Blanca Hernandez, was also pronounced dead at the scene. Gonzalez, the suspect’s grandmother, was transported to a local hospital and treated for injuries to her hand.

LAPD Olympic Area detectives are handling the investigation into the initial homicide, and LAPD Force Investigation Division personnel are investigating the officer-involved shooting, which occurs anytime an officer fires their weapon. The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, the Office of the Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division.