2 California officers shot after confronting man with sword

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Two officers were wounded and a suspect was killed during a shootout after police responded Wednesday to reports of a man with a sword entering the Church of Scientology in Inglewood, California, authorities said.

The suspect was shot in the head and died at a hospital, Inglewood police Lt. Oscar Mejia told reporters at the scene. He was not immediately identified.

Gunfire erupted around 3:30 p.m. inside the front entrance of the church after police approached the man, who was wearing a hooded sweat shirt and wielding the sword, officials said.

One officer was struck in a hand, and the other was hit in an arm, officials said. They were hospitalized in good condition with non-life-threatening injuries, police Chief Mark Fronterotta said. Both officers are in their late 20s, the chief said.

Officials didn’t say who fired first or whether a gun was recovered from the suspect.

Inglewood is a city of about 100,000 residents about 10 miles (16 kilometres) southwest of downtown Los Angeles.