Los Angeles Police officers fired their guns on duty more often in the first half of 2025 than during the same time last year, an increase that contrasts with the city’s multi-year reduction in violent crime, including other shootings and murders.
“There are fewer violent crimes being committed in the city, and yet, we’re seeing a greater number of officer-involved shootings. In those shootings, our officers are facing somebody, who is, for the most part, armed and assaultive,” Chief Jim McDonnell told NBCLA Tuesday.
There were 25 shootings involving officers between Jan. 1 and July 15, 2025, compared with 18 during the same time in 2024.
The most recent incident was Monday, when officers shot a man in Boyle Heights who appeared to be armed with a rifle or submachine gun.
The man was killed, and the weapon turned out to be an airsoft or BB gun that looked like a firearm.
There were four other police shootings in recent weeks, including a July 5 gunfight along Western Avenue when an officer was shot in the legs while chasing a man with a handgun.
That officer has recovered, and the man being pursued was arrested and faces attempted murder charges, police and prosecutors said.
McDonnell said 15 of the 2025 shootings involved people allegedly armed with guns or replica guns (Seven were real firearms while eight were facsimiles) compared with 10 firearms or firearm replicas in all of 2024.
“It makes it difficult for officers to assess the threat in the moment,” said McDonnell, explaining the challenge was one of several factors LAPD researchers have pointed-to that may be behind this year’s increase.
He told the Board of Police Commissioners at its meeting Tuesday that officers unsuccessfully used less-lethal weapons in more of the 2025 shootings, which he said signals that officers were trying to de-escalate the situations before using deadly force.
He said more of this year’s shootings occurred after officers responded to calls for help from the public, rather than officers’ initiating investigations or traffic stops.
The number of LAPD shootings has historically followed trends in violent crime in the city, making the 2025 increase surprising, according to one former department executive.
Violent crime has been on a decline in Los Angeles and in other major cities for several years, with LAPD reporting a 30% reduction in murders during the first half of 2025.
The LA County Sheriff’s Department reported its deputies fired their guns in six shootings, all fatal, during the first half of 2025, compared with 12 during the same period in 2024.
The LASD doesn’t include shootings in which no one is injured while the LAPD does.