Parents Call For Help During Son's Mental Health Episode But Police Fatally Shoot Him Within Seconds

In a tragic incident, a man lost his life after being shot by police during a mental health crisis.

The parents of Yong Yang, deeply worried about their son's bipolar disorder which he was diagnosed with approximately 15 years ago, had reached out to the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health for help last month.

They reported that he was experiencing a severe episode.

A mental health professional was dispatched to Yang's apartment in Koreatown, where he lived with his parents, to assess his condition.

Family of Yong Yang/Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP

The situation escalated when Yang reportedly became aggressive, prompting the clinician to call the police for assistance.

Bodycam footage, which was later shared on the Los Angeles Police Department's YouTube channel, captured the officers at the scene.

They were recorded attempting to persuade the 40-year-old Yang to open his apartment door.

When he refused, the officers managed to unlock the door using another set of keys.

Upon entering, the officers found Yang holding a knife.

Yong Yang was holding a knife when police arrived. Los Angeles Police Department

They commanded him to drop it, but he did not comply immediately.

Subsequently, an officer standing in the doorway shot him fatally.

Following the incident, the Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned to the scene.

Yang was pronounced dead, as confirmed by a police press release.

Warning: Distressing Content

Despite the officer's belief that Yang posed a threat, his parents contested this view.

They had initially hesitated to call the police, fearing their son might be harmed.

Ming Yang, the father, expressed to NBC News that the confrontation was forced upon his son as a means of self-defense.

"He just yelled out. People were trying to barge in, and he clearly stated that 'you guys are not invited.'"

In the aftermath, the Yang family has demanded an independent investigation into the shooting and questioned why non-lethal methods weren't considered by the officers.

Before the police's arrival, the mental health clinician claimed that Yang had attempted to kick him, a claim Yang's father also disputes. 

"Maybe the guy felt threatened, but I don't think my son threatened him," he remarked. 

The officer who shot the gun has been named as Andres Lopez. David McNew/Getty Images

"If he was threatened by the mentally ill person's remark like that, when he's trying to barge in behind me, then he needs to study more."

The family's attorney pointed out that the team spent barely over two minutes assessing Yang before deciding to call the police.

Officer Andres Lopez, who fired the fatal shot, was identified as the same officer involved in another on-duty shooting in 2021. 

In that previous incident, he had shot a mentally ill man who was brandishing what turned out to be a fake gun, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.

The district attorney later ruled that Lopez's actions in the 2021 case were in self-defense.