Through his personal Twitter, Daniel Tosh, host of the Comedy Central TV show Tosh.O, paid tribute to John Winkler, a production assistant to the show, who Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies killed after mistaking him for an assailant in a hostage situation earlier this week.

"Only had the privilege of working with John Winkler for a short while," Tosh wrote. "We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his family and friends."

According to a police statement, Winkler was shot in the chest Monday night at a West Hollywood apartment complex after three deputies began firing at him because they believed him to be the suspect holding people hostage at knifepoint.

The 30-year-old aspiring TV producer who moved to L.A. from Washington state to purse a Hollywood career, died a nearby hospital, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Winkler's 62-year-old aunt, Anne-Marie Van Wart, told the Times that her nephew was pleased to be living in Hollywood and his success was just around the corner.

"He was quite excited the last time we talked to him," she said. "He was just getting his foot in the door of life. Just, the light was right around the corner ... and (now) he's gone."

Interim Sheriff John Scott said Thursday afternoon during a news conference regarding the incident that what occurred Monday night was a fear for any police officer and that the three deputies had "the best of intent" in their attempt to protect the victims from the suspected assailant.

"Taking the life of an innocent person is a police officer's greatest nightmare," Scott said.

At the 900 block of Palm Avenue off Santa Monica Boulevard on Monday night at around 9:30, the deputies responded to a phone call they received regarding a man with a knife in one of the apartment's units, according to the sheriff's department statement.

A witness near the scene told the deputies there were two men inside the unit and described the assailant as a thin white man with a black t-shirt, which was similar to what Winkler was dressed in and looked like, police reported.

After the deputies announced their presence outside the complex, the door burst open as a bloodied man rushed out while Winkler was close behind, according to officials.

The deputies believed "Winkler was the assailant and the assault was ongoing and he would attack the entry team," police said.

The deputies shot at Winkler and the other man, who was shot once in the leg. After firing at the two men, the deputies heard "sounds of a fight coming from inside the apartment," police reported.

Upon entering the apartment, the deputies saw another male victim being choked by the alleged hostage taker who officials identified as Alexander McDonald. The deputies subdued and arrested McDonald, who was also seen "tearing at" the other man's face, police reported.