Los Angeles police fatally shot an adult son who officers say continued stabbing his father as they forced their way into a Lake Balboa home Wednesday morning, killing both men at the scene. The confrontation unfolded on the 17200 block of Valerio Street after a family member called for help about a mental health crisis, police said.
The case is now under parallel reviews by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Force Investigation Division and Robbery-Homicide Division, a routine step after deadly force and a homicide. It has drawn attention because officers reported seeing the assault in progress as they entered the residence, a rare but not unprecedented scenario that narrows the window for de-escalation. Officials said the adult son had a history of violence toward family members. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner will publicly identify the father and son once relatives are notified.
Officers were dispatched shortly after 8 a.m. to reports of a man in crisis at a single-family home east of Louise Avenue. When they arrived, a relative met them outside and warned that the father was in danger, according to police. Officers said they heard a struggle inside, forced the door and moved down a hallway to a bedroom, where they saw the son on top of his father with an edged weapon. Police issued commands, but the son continued the attack, investigators said. Officers fired, striking the son. Los Angeles Fire Department personnel entered minutes later and pronounced both men dead. “No officers or other community members were injured,” the department said in a public update.
Detectives recovered a pair of scissors believed to have been used in the stabbing and a kitchen knife inside the room, according to police. Preliminary information shared by the department indicated the son, described by relatives as mentally ill, had previously stabbed his father years earlier and assaulted his mother, and had spent time in a mental health institution. Patrol officers from the West Valley Division were first on scene. A captain and investigators from specialized units later secured the block for several hours while crime-scene technicians collected evidence and canvassed for doorbell video. The men’s ages were listed by local media as 35 for the son and 61 for the father; officials did not immediately confirm those numbers. The names remained withheld pending notification.
Lake Balboa, a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley, has seen periodic police responses for family and mental health calls, but deadly force incidents are comparatively infrequent. LAPD policy requires officers to request specialized mental health resources when feasible; investigators will examine radio traffic, body-worn camera footage and witness interviews to determine what resources were requested and when. Detectives will also look at whether any restraining orders or prior police reports existed at the address, and how officers assessed the risk as they approached a suspected stabbing in progress. The scene’s layout — a narrow hallway leading to a bedroom — may factor into the review of tactics and fields of fire.
As with all LAPD shootings, the Force Investigation Division will assemble a full case file, including forensics on the recovered scissors and knife, autopsy results, and frame-by-frame analysis of body-worn video. The Police Commission will later evaluate whether the shooting, tactics and drawing of firearms were within policy. Robbery-Homicide detectives are leading the homicide case because the killing occurred during an active assault. Any criminal filing decisions related to the use of force are made by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office after the internal review and an independent assessment. Officials said a critical incident video with edited body-camera footage is expected in the coming weeks, in line with department timelines.
Neighbors said officers sealed off Valerio Street through midday as investigators worked. Patrol vehicles, crime-scene vans and a mobile command post remained at the corner while detectives interviewed family members. One resident who walked her dog past the block in the morning described marked police cars “everywhere” and yellow tape strung across multiple driveways. Another nearby resident said he heard sirens and a brief burst that “sounded like several shots” before the street fell quiet. A relative at the scene, who declined to give his name, said the family had struggled to get long-term treatment for the son and feared the situation would escalate.
As of Thursday afternoon, the LAPD said both investigations were ongoing and that Valerio Street had reopened. The medical examiner is working to confirm identities and notify next of kin. The department said it will release a critical incident video with body-camera footage and a narrated timeline later this month. A Police Commission briefing on the case is expected after investigators complete their evidence review.