4 dead, 2 wounded in Los Angeles shooting spree

LOS ANGELES - Four people were shot dead and two were wounded on Thursday in a shooting spree that spread across several Los Angeles neighborhoods and touched off a 12-hour manhunt before police tackled and arrested an armed suspect.

A Los Angeles police spokesperson identified the suspect as Gerry Zaragoza, 26, and said he was held on pending murder charges in the shooting deaths of his father and brother, and the wounding of his mother with a gunshot. The spokesperson did not identify the victims.

The shooting spree started at an apartment the suspect shared with his parents at about 2 a.m. on Thursday in LA's Canoga Park, police said.

Police said the suspect also allegedly shot and killed a woman he knew at a gas station in North Hollywood about 45 minutes later, but did not characterize their relationship.

Some media referred to her as a former girlfriend, others as an acquaintance.

At the same time, he allegedly shot and wounded a gas station clerk. The man was shot five times and was in critical condition, the Los Angeles Times and other media reported.

Later, at about 7:45 a.m., police said Zaragoza allegedly shot a gardener he tried to rob at an ATM. And at about 1 p.m. he allegedly shot and killed a man on a bus in the Van Nuys neighborhood, police said.

Media reports say he did not know the man on the bus and that the shooting appeared to be random.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Zaragoza was arrested in Canoga Park after being tackled by plain clothes officers about 2:30 p.m. Police used a taser to subdue him.

An LAPD spokesperson had no information on any bond set for Zaragoza, but said he remained in police custody early Friday. It was unclear if he had an attorney.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chris Brown arrested after standoff at LA home

LOS ANGELES -- Pop star Chris Brown was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on Tuesday after a daylong standoff and search at his Los Angeles home that began when a woman called 911 in the predawn hours, police said.

Brown, 27, denied any wrongdoing in posts on Instagram before he was taken into custody and said he had woken up to find police outside the property in the Tarzana neighborhood in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

"He is being transported to robbery homicide, where he will be arrested for assault with a deadly weapon," Lieutenant Chris Ramirez of the Los Angeles Police Department told reporters at an impromptu media conference outside Brown's home.

Ramirez declined to elaborate on the charges against Brown, saying an investigation was still under way. Earlier TMZ.com and the Los Angeles Times reported that the singer had pointed a gun at the woman, who later left the property.

Police who responded to the 911 emergency call at around 3 a.m. spent hours surrounding the home before obtaining a search warrant and beginning a search of the sprawling premises in the early afternoon.

During that search, TMZ posted a photo of Brown standing on the front porch with a police officer and his attorney, Mark Geragos. Geragos could not be reached by Reuters for comment.

"I don't sleep half the damn night I just wake up to all these ... helicopters, choppers is around, police out there at the gate," Brown said in a video he posted on Instagram as police were stationed outside his house.

"What I do care about is you are defacing my name and my character and integrity," he added, saying he had done nothing wrong and criticizing police actions.

"I don't care y'all going to stay playing with me like I'm the villain out here, like I'm going crazy ... good luck when you get the warrant or whatever you need to do. You're going to walk right up in here and you're going to see nothing you idiots," he added.

In 2009, Brown assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna, and in 2015 finished a lengthy term of probation, community service and domestic violence classes.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Justin Bieber accused of attempted robbery

Pop singer Justin Bieber has been accused of attempted robbery, a Los Angeles Police Department official said on Tuesday, following media reports that he had tried to snatch a young woman's mobile telephone.

Bieber, 20, has not been arrested or questioned, said LAPD spokeswoman Rosario Herrera. A spokeswoman for Bieber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Detectives have interviewed the victim, who reported the alleged crime, Herrera said. The incident occurred at about 10:30 p.m. on Monday in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles.

Media reported Bieber allegedly tried to take a young woman's mobile phone, according to Sgt. Paul McLaughlin with LAPD's Devonshire Division, which includes Northridge and other areas of the San Fernando Valley.

It was reported to police on Tuesday. No other information was available.

The Canadian singer is due to stand trial in July in Miami on charges of driving under the influence, resisting arrest and using an expired license. In February, Bieber was charged with assaulting a limousine driver in Toronto.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com