A video surfaced on Sunday showing LAPD officer shooting what is believed to be a homeless man in downtown Los Angeles. The police say the man, a robbery suspect, confronted police and attempted to take one of the officers’ firearms when the police opened fire. An investigation is underway to determine what happened during the altercation.

The video appeared on Facebook on Sunday and garnered more than 5 million views. It shows six LAPD officers attempting to subdue a man on the streets. During the fight between the man and four officers, one of the officers shouts the suspect has his gun. Five shots are then heard as the on-looking crowd gasps.

The LAPD released a statement explaining officers had been deployed to the area, known as Skid Row, at around noon searching for an alleged robbery suspect.

“After making contact, however, the suspect began fighting and physically resisting the officers attempts to take him into custody. The officers attempted to use a TASER to subdue him but the suspect continued to fight and resist the officers and fell to the ground,” the statement reads.

Paramedics responded to the scene and pronounced the man dead at the scene. Two officers were treated for minor injuries.

The LAPD’s Force Investigative Division (FID) will investigate the shooting along with the LAPD’s Inspector General. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division will also review the facts.

Though the statement did not provide many details about the incident, The Associated Press reports three officers were involved in the shooting, one of whom is a sergeant.

LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said the police were reviewing the video footage shown on Facebook. He added at least one officer had a body camera on him.

"The video is disturbing," Smith said late Sunday night. "It's disturbing any time anyone loses their life. It's a tragedy."

The Los Angeles Times identified the victim simply as “Africa,” and witnesses say the man had been living on Skid Row for about four or five months after being released from a mental health facility.

Police Commission President Steve Soboroff said, “A key issue would be whether the man did try to grab the officer's gun.” If there was no threat, then the question would be why the officer opened fire.

"To me, that would be the only explanation that something would happen that quickly," Soboroff said. "It escalated right in front of our eyes." He then asked people not to rush to judgment.

Similarly, the Los Angeles Police Protective League released a statement, asking the public not to pass judgement until the investigation ended. However, the league said, “Audio heard on a video recording during the incident clearly suggests that the officers felt they were in life-threatening danger.”

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