Good Morning. Join us on Monday, October 3rd for the 39th Annual Chief Daryl F. Gates Golf Tournament at Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge. Registration is $150 per person and proceeds will go towards benefitting the Officer Needs Help Fund. Click here for more information.
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1 Killed, 4 Injured After Gunfire Breaks Out Near Panorama City Swap Meet
At least one person was killed and four others were injured in a shooting Wednesday afternoon near a swap meet in Panorama City. The shooting was reported near the Valley Indoor Swap Meet on Parthenia Street around 2:30 p.m. Police initially responded to a report of a crash in the area. A white sedan was present at the scene. It was not immediately known how the crash and shooting were related. One person was declared dead at the scene. At least three were brought to a local hospital and were believed to be in stable condition. A large police presence gathered in the area and there were at least five ambulances at the scene. The motive for the shooting and a description of a possible suspect were not immediately available. Police said they believe the suspect or suspects fled the scene in a newer BMW M3 series. Police are talking with victims and reviewing security video from the swap meet.
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Man Found Shot To Death Inside Car In Downtown LA
An investigation was underway in Downtown Los Angeles on Thursday after a man was found shot to death inside of a vehicle. Officers were sent to the scene on 15th and San Pedro Streets, just north of the I-10 Freeway, at around 12:30 a.m. where they found a man, believed to be in his 20s, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no suspect information immediately available, and Los Angeles Police Department investigators were searching for a possible motive in the shooting.
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Man Accused Of Shooting Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker Is Recaptured Months After Mistaken Release
Almost four months after he was mistakenly freed from custody in Los Angeles, a man accused of shooting Lady Gaga’s dog walker in a robbery was captured Wednesday, officials said. James Howard Jackson, 19, was arrested in Palmdale, a city north of L.A., the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Jackson is charged in the Feb. 24, 2021, shooting of dog walker Ryan Fischer. He was released from jail by mistake on April 6 due to what the sheriff’s department has said was a clerical error. Last month, the U.S. Marshals Service announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to Jackson’s arrest, but whether that played any role in him being taken into custody Wednesday was not immediately clear. Fisher was walking Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs in Hollywood when he was robbed by three people, officials have said. Two of the dogs were stolen, and Jackson allegedly shot Fisher in the chest with a .40-caliber handgun. Fisher survived. Jackson and two other people have been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and second-degree robbery. Two other people were charged with being an accessory after the fact.
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Police: Domestic Violence Suspect Hits, Kills 2 Pedestrians In South L.A.
A man wanted following multiple reports of domestic violence was arrested by Los Angeles police officers Tuesday after he allegedly struck and killed two pedestrians while speeding. Police originally responded to the 4300 block of Figueroa Street around 11:30 a.m. for a report of a domestic violence incident. While at the scene, police found no evidence of domestic violence and left the area, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. About an hour later, police received a second call reporting domestic violence by the same suspect at the same location. When police arrived for the second time, they found that the suspect had fled the scene. Police later located his vehicle near the intersection of 52nd and Flower streets and he was taken into custody. At some point, the man was involved in a traffic collision in which he struck two pedestrians while traveling at a high rate of speed, police said. It’s unclear at this time if the crash happened during a pursuit or if the man was speeding away from the scene where the domestic violence incident allegedly happened. The two pedestrians, who have yet to be identified, were pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect was taken into custody, but has not yet been identified. LAPD investigators are collecting evidence and reviewing security footage related to the crash.
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Hollywood May Soon See An Increased Police Presence Amid Uptick In Crime
Hollywood could soon see an increase in police presence after a motion introduced Wednesday by Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell that intends to address a recent increase in crime in the area. O'Farrell, who represents Hollywood, is seeking to transfer $216,000 from his office to the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood division to add additional officer shifts. According to O'Farrell's office, there has been a 75% increase in homicides and a 35.6% increase in shots fired so far this year compared to last year -- while robbery has gone up by 19.4% and theft has jumped by 24.7%. "If you plan to come to Hollywood to commit crime, you are not welcome," O'Farrell said. "All Angelenos should feel safe where they live and work." The demand for public safety has exceeded the available resources in Hollywood, according to the motion. The motion is expected to come before the Public Safety Committee. "Hollywood is as diverse, if not more, than any other part of the city itself, and having more resources concentrated in this area would be beneficial to ensuring public safety, particularly to the most vulnerable of society," the motion says.
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More Suspects Armed With Firearms During Police Shootings, LAPD Reports
More Los Angeles Police Department shootings this year are involving suspects that are armed with firearms as opposed to knives or other weapons, which Deputy Chief David Choi called a “significant shift” Wednesday during a Public Safety Committee meeting. Last year, 15 of 37 police shootings involved suspects with firearms. LAPD representatives did not specify a number for this year. There have been 23 shooting incidents involving police officers this year, an even rate compared to the same time period last year, according to Choi. The Public Safety Committee reviewed a report Wednesday on all shootings by LAPD officers in 2021, which saw the highest number of such shootings since 2017. A version of the report previously went before the Police Commission in March. There were 37 shootings by the Los Angeles Police Department in 2021, 18 of them fatal. In 2020, there were 27 police shootings and seven people were killed. In 2019, the LAPD reached a three-decade low with 26 police shootings.
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LAPD Locates Man Missing From Lancaster
The Los Angeles Police Department sought the public's help Wednesday in locating a 41-year-old man who was last seen in Lancaster and is said to have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder order. Late Wednesday, authorities announced that they had safely located Mauro. Prior to his location, Mathew Alexander Mauro was last seen around 10:30 a.m. on the 42900 block of Cherbourg Lane, said Deputy Brenda Serna of the Sheriff's Information Bureau. He is described as a white man who is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. Mauro has blue eyes, black short hair and a beard. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt and black shorts, has a neck tattoo that says "Natalia" and a possible destination of 60th Street and Godde Hill Road, Serna said.
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Prosecutor: Suspect Fired 36 Rounds With AK-47 At Slain Indiana Officer
The Elwood police officer shot to death Sunday never had the opportunity to exit his vehicle following a routine traffic stop. Carl Roy Webb Boards II, 42, of Anderson, has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Elwood Police Officer Noah Shahnavaz. He is being held at the Hamilton County jail since his Sunday arrest and will continue to be housed there for safekeeping. Boards appeared Monday for his initial court appearance through a video appearance from the Hamilton County jail on charges of murder with a firearm enhancement, two counts of resisting law enforcement, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious convicted felony and being a habitual offender. Following the initial hearing, Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said the death penalty is still being considered. "We still have to talk to the family and couldn't file the death penalty on this short notice," he said. "We still have work to do." Cummings said Shahnavaz was able to call dispatch with a description of the vehicle and then indicated Boards "had a gun" before shots are heard. He said Boards was armed with an AK-47 assault weapon with a magazine containing 75 rounds.
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North Carolina Deputy, 1 Of 3 Shot In 9-Hour Standoff, Dies From His Injuries
One of three deputies who were shot Monday morning as they attempted to serve involuntary commitment papers has died from his injuries. Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Matthew Fishman, 38, died from his injuries. Cpl. Andrew Cox and Deputy Alexander Ramon Torres were reported in stable condition and are expected to recover. The suspect, identified as Jourdan Hamilton, opened fire once deputies arrived at the home, which set off a nine-hour standoff with police. When SWAT members were finally able to enter the home, they found Hamilton dead inside with an “apparent fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound,” FOX News reported. “Nobody expects to go into work and be shot at, but this is what our men and women do on a daily basis,” Wayne County PIO Joel Gillie said. Hamilton, who was the only person inside the home, had received previous misdemeanors for communicating threats last year and resisting an officer in 2019.
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Video: NYPD Cops Pelted With Glass Bottles While Trying To Detain Suspect
Several NYPD police officers were punched and pelted with glass bottles following a parade Sunday. The incident, which was caught on video, shows a group of men punching and throwing bottles at the officers as they attempt to detain a suspect for possession of a firearm following a Dominican Day parade in the Bronx, the New York Post reported. Police had responded to the scene to break up a street party, where the group of men, later identified to include some members of a Dominican gang, were blasting loud music and blocking traffic, police said. Officers encountered a suspect with a gun and the crowd turned unruly while they cuffed the man. In the video, a man in a yellow shirt punches an officer, while others begin throwing glass bottles at the officers. The sound of glass shattering can be heard in the video. At least six people were arrested following the incident.
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Crews Put Out Structure Fire At South LA Marijuana Grow Operation
Crews extinguished a structure fire at an apparent marijuana grow operation in South Los Angeles Thursday morning. The fire broke out at a four-story commercial building located in the area of 819 E. 62nd Street just before 7 a.m. Officials said it was a legally licensed marijuana grow operation. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or civilians.
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L.A. County Could Move Out Of High COVID 19 Category
Los Angeles County could move out of the federal government’s high-COVID-19 activity category Thursday. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer anticipates the county will drop into the medium category when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates its numbers. The county has been in the high category since a mid-July surge in hospitalizations prompted officials to consider reinstating a mask mandate. Ferrer announced last week that hospitalizations had dropped again and a mandate, at least for now, would not be necessary. The L.A. County Department of Public Health released its updated COVID-19 numbers Wednesday: Current hospitalizations: 1,237, new cases: 6,637, and new deaths: 22 (32,785 to date). Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently authorized the Novavax vaccine for adults aged 18 and older. The shot will be administered as a two-dose primary series, three weeks apart. More information on vaccines can be found at vaccinatelacounty.com.
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LA County To Start Offering Novavax COVID Vaccine Wednesday
Los Angeles County’s health director said she hopes the availability of a new form of COVID-19 vaccine, Novavax, will prompt people who have been hesitant about the previously available shots to finally consider getting vaccinated. The county will begin offering doses of the Novavax vaccine Wednesday, providing the shots at not only its usual vaccination sites but in mobile clinics. The Novavax vaccine is a more traditional protein-based shot, rather than the mRNA technology used in the Pfizer and Moderna shots that were previously available. “We’re going to be able to say to folks, you know, we understand you had some concerns, you were worried about the new (mRNA) technology that wasn’t really so new, but folks who were worried about it with the vaccines, now we have something that really we’ve been making vaccines using this technology for over 30 years,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday. “And it might give people some comfort around the safety issues and the efficacy issues.”
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Firefighters Make Gains Against Deadly California Fire
Firefighters have gotten their first hold on California’s deadliest and most destructive fire of the year and expected that the blaze would remain stalled through the weekend. The McKinney Fire near the Oregon border was 10% contained as of Thursday morning and bulldozers and hand crews were making progress carving firebreaks around much of the rest of the blaze, fire officials said at a community meeting. The southeastern corner of the blaze above the Siskyou County seat of Yreka, which has about 7,800 residents, was contained. Evacuation orders for sections of the town and Hawkinsville were downgraded to warnings, allowing people to return home but with a warning that the situation remained dangerous. About 1,300 residents remained under evacuation orders, officials said. The fire didn’t advance much on Wednesday, following several days of brief but heavy rain from thunderstorms that provided cloudy, damper weather. “This is a sleeping giant right now,” said Darryl Laws, a unified incident commander on the blaze. In addition, firefighters expected Thursday to fully surround a 1,000-acre (404-hectare) spot fire on the northern edge of the McKinney Fire.
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