Update: The victim was in his 20s, according to the coroner.

Lesson: Choose your carjacking victims wisely.

One suspected criminal learned the hard way last night, when he allegedly approached an off-duty LAPD officer's driver-side window, going in for the steal — and didn't live to see the crime scene.

Apparently, when the officer went to move his vehicle outside his home at 10 minutes to midnight, he had the foresight to bring his gun along. According to LAPD spokesman Richard French, this particular cop…

… worked for the South Traffic Division, and was sitting in his vehicle outside his Harbor Gateway-area residence on the 1500 block of West 224th Street when the suspect (allegedly armed) walked up. From there, the officer opened fire on the man, whose name has yet to be released.

The victim died at the scene. As for the shooter — he came away without a scratch.

From the Fox11 news report, it appears the vehicle was a large, newish white truck. An LAPD detective on the case, Sergeant Gus Villanueva, tells reporters that L.A. City Fire Department personnel were the ones to respond to the scene, and that the LAPD's own Force Investigation Division — which looks into all officer-involved shootings — will take it from here.

Police Kill Suspected Carjacker: MyFoxLA.com

Last month, LAPD officers shot an unarmed 48-year-old man who had gotten in a verbal argument with family members, and who then allegedly lunged at the cops when they showed up to regulate.

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]

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