Derrick Patrick Allen Sites, 39

Derrick Sites, a 39-year-old white man, was fatally shot by police Wednesday, July 20, in the 3400 block of South Broadway in Historic South-Central, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Los Angeles police fatally shot a man Wednesday morning who was slashing a woman's throat inside a South Los Angeles warehouse, department officials said.

Officers initially responded to a robbery call about 8:15 a.m., said Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andy Smith.

When they arrived, a bystander directed officers to a warehouse from where he had heard a woman screaming, Smith said. The officers entered the building and heard Sites threatening a screaming woman from behind a locked door.

The officers kicked the door down to rescue the woman and encountered Sites, who was "in the process of slashing this woman's throat," Smith said.

Sites then came toward the officers armed with the knife and was shot, Smith said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The LAPD Force Investigation Division is investigating the case.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Newton area detectives at (323) 846-5363. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Andrew Blankstein