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Dozens of people witnessed police officers shot and kill an armed man, who was described as latino, following a pursuit amid the U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, California, September 25.

According to Huntington Beach police spokesperson Jennifer Care, the shooting happened in the sand near the pathway just south of the Huntington Beach pier around 3:15 in the afternoon. Witnesses stated that the man, who was wearing jean shorts and a white shirt, was being pursued by three police officers as he ran udner the pier.

In a report by ABC News, the police stated that the man failed to comply with their multiple commands and that the man was carrying a gun before they opened fire at him.

The armed man has not yet been identified. He was immediately taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities were able to find a gun at the scene of the shooting.

Beachgoers Witness Fatal Encounter

The surfing competition had just wrapped up for the day when witnesses heard several shots near the pier's bicycle and pedestrian pathway. A footage from a witness showed the man rolling on the sand while seemingly trying to reach for something before several shots were fired by the police.

Hector Tovar, who was at the scene, told The Orange County Register they heard 'pops' which they initially thought were fireworks.

"I thought it was fireworks, that's how many rounds there were," Tovar stated.

Body Cameras Captured the Shooting

During the encounter, authorities stated that the officers were wearing their body cameras which were activated. Huntington Beach police is currently working with the Orange County Sheriff's investigators to investigate the shooting, and the footage from the body cameras will be included in the probe.

In a bystander video that was released by TMZ, it can be seen that police officers stood about six feet away from the man who was rolling in the sand. Three police had their weapons drawn at the time.

A person could even be heard in the video asking if the police tased the man as he was already down.

After a few seconds, two more officers from the Huntington Beach police arrived at the scene with their weapons also drawn towards the man on the sand. The police started to fire their guns at the man after he was pointing his finger while laying on his side. It was not clear in the video whether the man had something on his hand or was reaching for something when the shots went off.

Following the shooting, Tory Johnson, one of the founding members of Black Lives Matter-Huntington Beach, stated that local activists were already starting to organize and are already planning on calling for accountability for the officers who were involved.

"This is what we're fighting. We're fighting police aggression, whether they are Black, brown, purple," Johnson added.

While the U.S. Open of Surfing competition had already wrapped up when the shooting happened, hundreds of people were still in the area and heard the shots.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Jess Smith

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