Machete-Wielding Man Killed By Police On Sunset Blvd Identified

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Authorities Friday identified a machete-wielding carjacking suspect shot and killed by police officers in the middle of Sunset Boulevard last month. After terrorizing the community and leading police on a short chase that ended in multiple crashes, the suspect was charging at a pursing officer with a machete when he was killed. The harrowing incident was caught on tape.

Click here to see the dramatic video.

The Los Angeles Police Department also released the names of the two officers involved in the fatal shooting. Nathaniel Pinnock, 22, was shot Nov. 25 about 11:30 a.m. near Sunset Boulevard and McCadden Place and died at a hospital, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The officers involved were identified by the LAPD as Youssef Brady and Nicolas Padilla, both assigned to Hollywood Division.

A short time before the shooting, Pinnock robbed an auto parts store at Fountain and Highland avenues while armed with a machete, and witnesses flagged down patrolling officers, who spotted him walking in the area, according to the LAPD.

The officers followed Pinnock to a restaurant on the corner of Sunset and McCadden. They saw him get into the passenger side of a vehicle at the drive-thru, and when the driver got out and fled, Pinnock got into the driver's seat, police said.

"In the officers' attempt to detain Pinnock, a less-lethal option was used, which was ineffective," according to an LAPD statement.

Pinnock drove the stolen car out of the drive-thru at a high rate of speed and collided with two police vehicles before coming to a stop at the intersection of Sunset and McCadden, police said.

"As Pinnock exited the vehicle armed with the machete, the officers utilized additional less-lethal options. Despite these efforts, Pinnock ran from the vehicle eastbound on Sunset Boulevard with the machete still in hand. The officers chase him on foot and after a short distance, Pinnock changed his direction and charged towards one of the officers while holding the machete in his right hand, resulting in an OIS," police said.

Video footage shows the suspect turning around and chasing one officer into the street. When the officer falls down, the man appears to raise the machete over his head before he is shot by another officer.

Authorities declined to say which officer was depicted on the video falling down while being chased by Pinnock, saying only that Pinnock was wounded by police gunfire.

Investigations were being conducted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office and the LAPD's Force Investigation Division.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.