Man Armed With Knife Fatally Shot by Police After Woman Was Attacked

A knife-wielding man shot by police in Van Nuys has been identified.

Rony Parras Mendez, 18, was a Van Nuys resident, coroner's Lt. Larry Dietz said.

Police responded about 4:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 31, to a "screaming woman radio call" inside an apartment complex in the 13600 block of Vanowen Street where the shooting took place, LAPD Officer Drake Madison said.

At the scene, officers found a woman being attacked by a knife-wielding suspect and an injured good Samaritan trying to intervene.

LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar said responding officers were allegedly confronted by a suspect, who refused to drop his weapon when officers ordered him to, and the officer-involved-shooting took place.

It's unclear why the suspect was attacking the woman or what their relationship was, police said.

Only one officer fired his weapon, Aguilar said.

Details about what led up to the shooting will be investigated using footage from the officer's body camera and interviews with the officer as well as the woman who was attacked, Aguilar added.

The good Samaritan who intervened in the incident was injured trying to help the woman, police said, and he was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. His condition was not known.