Marcelo Luna, 47

Marcelo Luna, a 47-year-old Latino male, died Friday, Aug. 19, after being shot by police near West Sunset and North Hobart boulevards in East Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Officers assigned to the LAPD’s Hollywood Division were driving along North Hobart Boulevard, just south of Sunset Boulevard about 1 a.m. when they encountered a man with a “bayonet-style” weapon, said Lt. Chris Ramirez.

Ramirez described the weapon as a “long piece of metal” with a bayonet more than 6 inches long fixed to the end, but he said investigators were still examining the object. Police had initially described the weapon as a long firearm with a knife attached to the end.

It was not immediately clear what happened in the moments before the officers opened fire. No officers were injured.

Luna was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:30 a.m., according to coroner’s records.

Luna may have been mentally ill, police said. Ramirez said investigators found vehicles parked down the street that had punctured tires, and were looking into whether there was any connection to the man’s activities before he encountered police.

The officers did not have body cameras, but their car was equipped with a camera, Ramirez said. Investigators will review the device to see if it captured the shooting.

Authorities are also canvassing the area for any witnesses or security cameras in the neighborhood that could reveal more about what happened.

The man was the 17th person shot by on-duty LAPD officers this year. Fourteen have died.

As with all shootings by LAPD officers, the deadly encounter will also be reviewed by the district attorney’s office, Police Commission and its inspector general.

A woman who identified herself as the man's girlfriend told KTLA-TV that the pair were fighting when police responded.

"We were kind of fighting, arguing with each other. He wanted to go outside with a bayonet, and I didn't want to let him," Roxana Villalobos said.

Villalobos said Luna went outside with the weapon, promising to keep it inside his sweater.

"He goes, 'I just want to feel safe. I just want to feel safe,'" Villalobos said.

A short time later, she heard sirens and his scream. Then, she heard gunshots.

Luna was bipolar and had schizophrenia, Villalobos said. The couple has a 10-month-old son together.

"I don't know where to begin," she said.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.