2 suspects nabbed after 4 killed in Los Angeles-area shootings

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

LOS ANGELES — Two suspected gang members were arrested in connection with a series of shootings in the Los Angeles area that killed four people, including a 14-year-old boy, authorities said Tuesday.

The shootings occurred over a span of a few hours late Sunday and early Monday in the cities of Huntington Park, Bell, Cudahy and Los Angeles, according to the LA County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators don’t have a motive, but they believe all the victims were randomly targeted and did not know the suspects, sheriff’s homicide Capt. Andrew Meyer told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

“It appears this was a random murder spree. However, homicide investigators have not ruled anything out,” Meyer said.

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Detectives were searching for a possible third male suspect, but officials didn’t provide details. There was no ongoing threat to the public, authorities said.

A man was found dead around 10:30 p.m. Sunday following reports of gunfire in the city of Bell just southeast of downtown LA, Meyer said. Then shortly after midnight Monday, another man died after being shot in a shopping center parking lot in the city of LA, he said.

Less than 15 minutes later, there were reports of two juveniles shot in nearby Cudahy. One of the young victims, a 14-year-old boy, died at the scene and the other juvenile was hospitalized in stable condition, officials said.

The fourth shooting occurred shortly before 2 a.m. in Huntington Park. The victim, found dead on a street along a curb, was a homeless man known to residents in the area, said the city’s police chief, Cosme Lozano.

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Sheriff’s investigators identified a Honda Pilot as a possible suspect vehicle seen on surveillance video near all four shooting scenes. The Honda was pulled over in a traffic stop Monday east of Los Angeles and deputies with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department arrested a 42-year-old man with an extensive criminal history, Meyer said.

The second suspect, a 20-year-old man with no criminal history, was arrested after SWAT officers served a search warrant at a residence in the city of Compton, officials said.

Both defendants are suspected of being gang members. They could each face murder charges, though officials didn’t say if both men fired guns. No weapons were recovered.

Officials urged witnesses or anyone with information to call the sheriff’s department.