The Los Angeles Police Department said they are gathering evidence and video footage for an investigation into an off-duty officer who shot and killed a 'mentally disabled' man authorities say attacked him inside a Costco in Southern California.
Kenneth French, 32, was killed and his parents were critically injured when the off-duty LAPD officer shot them on Friday night inside the Costco Wholesale warehouse store in Corona.
Police said the officer, who hasn't been named, fired his gun at French following an altercation that witnesses say took place near the freezer section. The shooting also injured French's parents who remain hospitalized in critical condition.
Authorities say the officer was carrying his child and that he retaliated after French attacked him.
Kenneth French, 32, was shot dead on Friday night inside a Costco in Corona, California while shopping with his parents. He was killed by an off-duty LAPD officer who claimed French attacked him
Authorities remained tight-lipped Sunday, not responding to requests for comment about what provoked the Friday night confrontation and whether anyone but the officer was armed.
Police said on Saturday that the officer opened fire after French, of Riverside, 'assaulted' him 'without provocation' as the officer held his young child.
Bullets struck French and two of his family members, according to police. The officer was the only person who fired shots in the store, police said.
Rick Shureih, French's cousin, told The Press-Enterprise that he was a 'gentle giant' who was mentally disabled.
French was 'non-violent, non-aggressive, non-verbal,' his cousin said, and 'he has to be pretty much monitored'.
Police said the officer, who hasn't been named, fired his gun at French (above) following an altercation that witnesses say took place near the freezer section
'He's not the kind to trade words, so I don't believe that a verbal confrontation happened,' Shureih said.
Shureih also identified the other two victims as French's parents, Russell and Paola French, and said they remained in an intensive care unit Sunday. Authorities have not released their names.
The officer was treated and released at a nearby hospital and the officer's child was not injured.
Police said the off-duty officer was the only one who fired shots in the store.
French's family is seeking an attorney, Shureih said, and declined to give specifics about his mental condition.
The LAPD will continue its internal probe as Corona police and the Riverside County district attorney's office conduct a separate investigation into the shooting. The LAPD said Sunday it had no further information.
Corona police and the district attorney's office did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.
Los Angeles Police Commission President Steve Soboroff said Sunday it is Chief Michel Moore's decision whether to put the officer on leave, but it remained unclear if that happened.
The department's policies allow off-duty officers to carry concealed weapons as long as they are authorized for on-duty use, according to the LAPD manual.
Joseph Giacalone, a
