State to investigate fatal LAPD shooting in Harvard Heights

The California Department of Justice is investigating the death of a 35-year-old man who was shot by police during a confrontation in Central Los Angeles.

According to police, the suspect, Ronald Gainer Jr., had been involved in a domestic violence confrontation with his girlfriend, who left an apartment. Gainer allegedly walked out of the apartment and fired a shot into the air and at an adjacent apartment building, which prompted the call to police.

Officers from the LAPD‘s Olympic Division responded about 10 p.m. Tuesday to the shots fired call at the location in the 1000 block of Ardmore Avenue, near 11th Street, in the Harvard Heights area just south of Koreatown, and while there, Gainer allegedly exited the apartment again, “armed with a firearm,” prompting police to open fire, according to the LAPD.

Gainer was struck by the gunfire and went back into the apartment, police said.

Officers eventually entered the apartment, and paramedics took Gainer to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

On Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the state Department of Justice is investigating the case under the authority of Assembly Bill 1506, which provides for state investigations into shootings of unarmed individuals.

Police maintain that Gainer was armed and that a black steel Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, some empty magazines and discharged cartridge cases were recovered at the shooting scene. Another handgun, magazine and ammunition were found inside the apartment.

No other people or officers were injured in the gunfire.

Once the DOJ’s California Police Shooting Investigation team’s probe is complete, the findings will be turned over to the DOJ’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division, which will conduct an independent review, according to a statement from Bonta’s office.

Anyone with information about the shooting was urged to call state investigators at 916-210-2871.