An aspiring TV producer who was being held captive by a knife-wielding man in West Hollywood was accidentally gunned down by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies as he tried to escape his assailant.

John Winkler, 30, a one-time production assistant on the Comedy Central show Tosh. Mr Winkler had been taken hostage at knifepoint along with two other men inside a Palm Avenue apartment by Alexander McDonald, according to a Sheriff's Department statement.

Scroll down for video. McDonald, 27, then began stabbing his captives and fighting with them in a rage, the statement alleged.

Deputies got a call at around 9. Suddenly the door burst opened and a man rushed out. Three deputies opened fire, hitting both men. Winkler was mortally wounded by a single shot. The bleeding man was shot in the leg and was hospitalized in stable condition.

The deadly incident played out Monday night inside an apartment complex in the block of Palm Avenue in West Hollywood. Officials say Winkler's friend and neighbor Alexander McDonald, 27 left took the aspiring producer right and two other men hostage at knife-point, and then began stabbing them. Deputies charged into the apartment and allegedly saw McDonald choking a man on the floor. That man was treated for stab wounds and other injuries and released, according to the Sheriff's Department statement.

McDonald was treated for minor injuries. County prosecutors have charged him with torture, murder and attempted murder. Authorities said Winkler lived in an apartment above the unit where the stabbing occurred, and that all four men involved in the deadly incident were friends who were 'just hanging out' Monday night, the station KTLA reported.

Responding deputies had been told the attacker was wearing a black shirt and Winkler was wearing a black shirt, Scott said. Winkler was friends with two people who were taken hostage and he had rushed to the apartment when he heard them screaming, his roommate, Devin Richardson, told the Times. Winkler, a graduate of the Seattle Film School, filled in as a production assistant for three days on Daniel Tosh's pictured Comedy Central show Tosh. Winkler had moved to West Hollywood from Washington state six months ago to work in the entertainment industry, his friend said.

List of Tosh.0 episodes - Wikipedia

In a statement to MailOnline Friday, Comedy Central spokesperson Renata Luczak said: The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

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