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A video has captured the moment US police shot and killed a homeless man during an altercation at a homeless camp in central Los Angeles, the BBC reported.

The graphic film shows a violent struggle between the man and several officers in the city's Skid Row area.

Police say that three officers opened fire after the man tried to grab a gun from an officer.

Witnesses said the dead man was known as Africa and had been homeless after treatment for mental illness.

Skid Row has a large homeless population.

The LA police department said officers had been responding to reports of a robbery and had attempted to use a Taser to subdue the suspect but he had "continued fighting and resisting."

No other gun was recovered at the scene, LA police commander Andrew Smith said.

Last year, highly publicised killings of black men sparked weeks of protests in the US.

Hours after the latest shooting, the hash tag #LAPDShooting was trending on Twitter in the US.