At left, John Winkler, who was shot to death by a Sheriff’s Deputy in West Hollywood on Monday. At right, Alexander McDonald, the suspect charged in the case with holding Winkler’s friends against their will and attacking them with a knife.
From the Los Angeles Times, on Winkler’s death:
In fact, he was one of three hostages being held inside an apartment by a man with a knife. Winkler was shot in the chest when he rushed out of the apartment with one of the other victims, sheriff’s officials said in a statement.
“The apartment door suddenly opened and a male victim came rushing out,” the statement said. “He was covered in blood and bleeding profusely from the neck. Simultaneously, Winkler ran out of the door, lunging at the back of the fleeing victim. Both ran directly at the deputies.”
Three deputies fired at Winkler. He was shot once and died at a local hospital. The other victim was also shot in the leg, officials said.
“Winkler moved to West Hollywood from Washington state six months ago to pursue a career in entertainment,” reports the Times. He had recently landed a temporary contract gig as aproduction assistant on the Comedy Central web-clip show Tosh.0.