The man shot and killed by deputies at the Valencia Town Center in early January has been identified.

On Jan. 11 at around 11 p.m., 50-year-old Christopher Mercurio died of gunshot wounds to the chest after a confrontation with deputies in front of the Westfield Valencia Town Center, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.

“Santa Clarita Station deputies responded to a business in a shopping center regarding a trespassing call,” said officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “Upon arrival, a deputy was assaulted by the suspect and a deputy-involved shooting occurred.”

Mercurio was transported to a local hospital and pronounced deceased.

The deputy, who had reportedly been punched in the face by Mercurio, was transported to a local hospital, treated and released.

The incident marked the second deputy-involved shooting in or near the Santa Clarita Valley that week. A couple of days before, a man with a knife was shot and killed by deputies in Bouquet Canyon after he was discovered on a dirt road near where the body of a woman he had a “dating relationship” had been discovered with stab wounds.

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