Police Shoot Man In Miracle Mile [UPDATED]

Police shot and critically wounded a man in the Miracle Mile this morning. Officers say he attacked them with a skateboard.

LAPD officers responded to reports of a man disturbing the peace around 8:45 a.m. this morning in the 800 block of South Sycamore Avenue. Officer Tony Im told the L.A. Times that he was "fighting with officers with a skateboard," leading to the shooting. He has since been transported to a local hospital, last reported to be in critical condition.

Patrick Comiskey, a witness walking his dog nearby, told the Times that the man was being subdued by two officers before the shooting took place, and also appeared to be homeless. One of the two officers reached back, leading Comiskey to think he was reaching for his handcuffs. Instead, Comiskey said he heard a gunshot. "It was point blank," Comiskey said. "All hell broke loose."

Comiskey said that the police officers involved appeared shocked, and also added that he did not see a skateboard anywhere at the scene. An L.A. Times reporter at the scene says police were called to the area because the man was smashing car windows with a skateboard:

Officers have since said there was a skateboard recovered at the scene, but it is unclear what the man did with it before the shooting.

A smashed window in a building at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, reportedly done by the same man, was roped off by police this morning. Officer Kimberly Noble, standing in front of the broken window, told LAist that she was unaware of any smashed car windows.

Update [4:00]: L.A. Times reporter Kate Mather says the LAPD no longer believes the man used the skateboard to attack officers, and was off the board before the incident. Authorities say officers used a Taser on the man that had no effect, and that he was shot after the man was able to use the Taser against one of the officers.