Two men shot, killed by H.B. police

Huntington Beach police officers shot and killed two men during a car stop Tuesday in Westminster right on the Huntington border, Lt. Russell Reinhart said.

The two officers stopped a car about 4:27 p.m. on Hammon Place north of Westminster Boulevard. During the stop, a gun was fired inside the car, but Reinhart said he wasn’t sure whether the two men were firing directly at the officers.

According to a release from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the car stop was prompted by a Huntington Beach Gang Unit investigation of a suspect believed to be armed and dangerous. Investigators and the Directed Enforcement Team spotted a woman and two men entering a green four-door Lexus in Huntington. When the car entered Westminster, police stopped it and requested a backup unit.

The woman driver exited the car and police then heard gunfire from inside it. Both officers fired back and fatally injured the two men, who were pronounced dead at the scene. A .40 caliber handgun was found inside the car, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The woman was not struck, Reinhart said. She was taken into custody by the Sheriff’s Department.

None of the names have been released at this time.

mona.shadia@latimes.com ; michael.miller@latimes.com

Twitter: @MonaShadia/ @MichaelMillerHB