Updated at the bottom with the man's ID. First posted at 11:41 a.m.

A man who swung a metal pipe wildly at police and broke out the windows of a Carl's Jr. in Monterey Park was fatally shot by the cops, sheriff's officials said.

Video (after the jump) from the incident seems to support the cop's instinct that this guy needed to be stopped.

The confrontation between taser- and gun-wielding officers and a 20-something man with a 3-foot metal pipe or bar in his hand unfolded …

… about 9:30 a.m. yesterday at the fast-food restaurant, which is near the 1200 block of Cesar Chavez Avenue, sheriff's officials told City News Service.


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Bystanders called police to say the suspect broke the large, plate-glass windows out of the restaurant with his weapon and was unruly, as seen on tape.

A pair of Monterey Park police officers confronted the hoodie-wearing man, who hand reportedly gone into the restaurant earlier and exited with no food, but he didn't appear to back down.

On the contrary, after being shot with a taser and pulling the electrified talons from his face, he turns to one cop and cocks his weapon as if getting ready to swing, baseball-style.

That's when the other officer opened fire, shooting the suspect five times. After he was down, according to ABC7, fire more rounds were heard coming from the cop's gune.

One round hit the sign of a neighboring Tommy's restaurant; a woman standing underneath sustained minor injuries.

The suspect was killed. He has not been identified.

What do you think? Justified, or just tragic?

[Update at 5:09 p.m.]: Gigi Graciette of Fox 11 News says the pipe-wielding suspect was identified as 22-year-old Steven Rodriguez.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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