Man With Bag On Hands Shot Dead By CHP In Downtown L.A. Ronald Reagan State Building

LOS ANGELES – A man who walked into the Ronald Reagan State Building in downtown Los Angeles with a bag over his hands and began ordering people to get on the ground was fatally shot today by a California Highway Patrol officer.

The 42-year-old man followed an employee into the building in the 300 block of South Spring Street at about 6:10 a.m. through the front door, CHP Sgt. Saul Gomez said. The building was not open to the public at the time.

The suspect -- who has not been positively identified and who may be from out of town -- apparently was not a current or former employee of the building, Gomez said in a briefing outside the building early this afternoon.

"We are still going through that database," Gomez said. "The building has 2,700 employees. Investigators have quite a task to go through all those names."

When the man entered the building, his hands were covered in a bag, and as he approached the security checkpoint inside the door, he raised his covered hands in an "aggressive shooting stance" and began barking orders at people inside, Gomez said.

As some people got on the ground, a CHP officer who was in the building confronted the man and fired an estimated five shots, fatally wounding him, Gomez said.

Investigators have not found a weapon that might have been in the man's possession, Gomez said.

Gomez said it was unclear if the man intended to take hostages. No one else in the building was injured, including the officer who fired the shots, officials said.

The CHP provides security for the state building.

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--City News Service/Image via Renee Schiavone, Patch