Man shot 33 times in Los Angeles

The first 911 caller reported seeing a man walking down a street shooting a gun in the air. Authorities said they received five more similar calls from witnesses alarmed by what they saw.

A few minutes later, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies shot the man to death.

Video captured the encounter on Saturday in the south Los Angeles suburb of Lynwood, showing deputies continuing to fire at Nicholas Robertson, 28, after he fell and crawled on the pavement.

Investigators said two deputies fired 33 bullets at Robertson after he refused to drop the gun and walked across a busy street to a petrol station where a family was using the pumps.

In response to questions about why the deputies kept shooting the man after he fell, homicide captain Steven Katz said: “When he collapsed, his arms were underneath him, and the gun was still in his hand. There was never a time when the weapon was not in his possession.”

Authorities released a close-up from security footage showing Robertson stretched out on the ground with a gun in his hand.

Robertson, who was black, was killed as police use of force draws increasing criticism after several deaths of black men by officers have been caught on video throughout the US.

The deputies confronted Robertson after witnesses said a man was walking down a residential street and then through a busy commercial area holding a gun and acting strangely.