Suspect Injured After Officer’s Gun Discharges

A 27-year-old unarmed Norwalk man was critically wounded Thursday when a sheriff’s detective’s revolver went off accidentally as the officer tried to stop the man from driving away in a stolen pickup in Bellflower, authorities said.

Investigators say Scott Fierro was driving the same stolen truck Wednesday when he allegedly threatened a K-Mart security guard with a knife when the guard tried to stop him from leaving with $100 worth of stolen drill bits.

Detectives spotted Fierro in the truck in a parking lot on Rosecrans Avenue on Thursday, Deputy Dean Scoville said. Believing that Fierro was going to rob the market, officers surrounded the truck and ordered him out. Instead, Scoville said, Fierro put the truck in reverse, throwing the deputy who was holding onto the passenger side off balance. His gun went off and the bullet struck Fierro in the chin.