Video: Calif. Police Officer Faces Gun as Traffic Stop Turns Deadly

Recently released body camera footage shows a suspect pulling a gun on a California officer during a March traffic stop before he was fatally shot by police.

The shooting happened shortly after 6:30 p.m. March 21 when Weed police stopped a vehicle on an on-ramp for traffic violations, KDRV-TV reports. A K-9 drug unit was called in to help, along with a Mt. Shasta police officer. 

A search of the vehicle discovered a large amount of suspected methamphetamine that was inside a stereo speaker box. After the discovery, an officer walked over to the suspect, who was sitting in a cruiser's passenger seat.

That's when the suspect allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at the officer. Police opened fire, and the suspect was struck before being rushed to the hospital, where he later died.

An officer who fell during the shooting suffered minor injuries. No one else was injured.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident. The Weed Police Department released body camera footage of the encounter Wednesday.