Abdul Arian, 19 [Update]

Abdul Arian, identified by the coroner's office as a 19-year-old white man, was shot and killed by police Wednesday, April 11, on the eastbound 101 Freeway at Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

What began as a high-speed pursuit ended shortly before 10 p.m., when Arian got out of his car, began running and was shot by officers.

The pursuit started near Plummer Street and Shirley Avenue, not far from the Northridge Fashion Center. Officers tried to stop Arian for driving erratically, but he did not pull over and a pursuit was initiated.

The chase proceeded through city streets with the driver motoring at high speeds and running red lights, said LAPD Officer Karen Rayner.

Arian eventually got on the westbound 101 Freeway, exited, then got back on the freeway heading east. Arian stopped in the eastbound lanes of the freeway at Canoga Avenue.

Officials said police fired at Arian as he tried to run away and they thought he was armed. Arian died at the scene.

"At this point, our force investigation division is conducting the investigation," LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman told KTLA. "All the officers have to be interviewed, as well as civilian witnesses that were present."

Asked if this may have been a case of suicide by cop, Neiman said, "It's certainly bizarre behavior, and it ended in a tragic situation for all involved."

"We won't know what the motivation of the suspect was until we talk to people who knew the suspect and find out maybe whether there were some issues related to his behavior."

Arian had once been in the Los Angeles Police Department Explorer Academy but was removed for disciplinary reasons, officials said.

Police would not say what the disciplinary reasons were or when exactly Arian was in the program, but they confirmed that he had once been part of the academy that teaches students about careers in law enforcement.

"He wanted to be an LAPD cop," said Hamed Arian, the youth's uncle, "and the LAPD killed him."

But as details of Arian's life emerge, the picture of his ambitions becomes more complicated. A police narrative of the shooting on the 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills suggests a troubled end for the young man who placed a 911 call during the pursuit and told authorities he was armed with a gun.

Police did not recover a gun from the scene.

During the chase, Arian called 911, and according to a partial transcript of the call released by the LAPD, he claimed to have a gun and made threats to the police.

"I have been arrested before for possession of destructive devices, I'm not afraid of the cops," he told the dispatcher. "If they pull their guns, I'm going to have to pull my gun out on them."

The dispatcher, according to the release, pleaded for Arian to surrender, saying "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Arian responded with expletives and warned that the police are "going to get hurt," according to the transcript.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department at (877) 527-3247. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

[Updated June 18: Man shot at by police more than 90 times not on drugs, coroner says ]

--Thomas Curwen and Andrew Blankstein