A man suspected of attacking two victims, including a man who was punched while pushing his grandchild in a stroller, was arrested Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Angel Sanchez Jr., 29, of Santa Barbara, was arrested in Oxnard about 2:15 p.m., the sheriff’s department announced in a news release. Sanchez was booked on suspicion of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.
Sheriff’s officials received calls about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday about two separate unprovoked attacks. The first victim was a boy and the second a 60-year-old grandfather who was punched in the face while pushing a stroller near the 26000 block of Agoura Road and Lost Springs Drive/Cottonwood Grove Trail, authorities said.
Both victims were Asian American/Pacific Islander, but authorities have not determined if they were the victims of a hate crime and the motive remains under investigation.
In a video from news station KTLA-TV, the assailant can be seen walking directly toward the victim while he was pushing a stroller. The victim is then punched in the face and he and the stroller fall to the ground, according to the video. Authorities did not release any details about the victims’ condition following the attack.
The assailant, who is seen wearing a backward baseball hat and a dark T-shirt, quickly walked away from the victims after the attack.
He then drove away in a silver 2005 Honda Odyssey with Nevada license plates, 183W80, authorities said.
Sanchez could face additional charges when the case is presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for filing, said the sheriff’s department.
Anyone with information about the assault can contact the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at (818) 878-1808 or the detective on the case at (818) 878-5523.
Santa Ana police are searching for a man suspected of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old child.
Nicolas Gonzalez, 39, is suspected of harming the child at a home in the 500 block of North Mortimer Street on Tuesday, according to police.
Gonzalez fled his home after being confronted by the child’s family members, police said.
There is an active warrant for his arrest on multiple child sexual assault charges, authorities said. He has black hair, brown eyes and is described as standing around 5 feet 3 and weighing around 160 pounds.
Anyone with information on Gonzalez’s location is asked to contact police at (714) 245-8379 or AAvila@santa-ana.org.
Less than 24 hours after news broke that a serial predator might be targeting some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable residents, police on Saturday announced the arrest of a suspect linked to the homicides of three homeless men across the city in the past week.
Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, is accused of walking up to men in three different Los Angeles neighborhoods over a four-day span, killing each for no apparent reason, Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday.
Moore described the killings as “senseless” and said footage of at least one homicide shows Powell acting borderline indifferent as he takes a man’s life.
“It was chilling and I’ve been in this work for four-plus decades,” Moore said of the Monday killing of Mark Diggs. “The cold-blooded manner in which he walks up and shoots this individual without any hesitation, no interactions.”
Powell was arrested Wednesday night by Beverly Hills police after his car was linked to the Sunday killing of 42-year-old Nicholas Simbolon in San Dimas. Powell allegedly robbed Simbolon at his home and shot him in what authorities have termed a “follow home robbery.” Simbolon, who worked for the L.A. County chief executive’s office, is survived by his wife, his mother and two sons, officials said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said a 2024 BMW belonging to Powell was spotted at the scene of Simbolon’s slaying, and Beverly Hills police spotted the car and arrested Powell after a traffic stop late Wednesday.
Moore said investigators linked the car to the killings of the homeless victims, though he didn’t say how, and confirmed that a handgun recovered during Powell’s arrest has been tied to all four shootings.
While Powell was already in custody before Friday’s news conference, Moore said Saturday that investigators did not definitively connect him to the killings of the homeless victims until sometime “in the last 16 hours.”
A motive remains unclear. Moore said it appeared that the gunman was attacking homeless people who were isolated from groups. None of the homeless victims appear to have been robbed. It also does not appear Powell knew Simbolon or the homeless men.
Powell has a lengthy criminal history, including felony convictions, according to Moore, who said police are looking for additional victims. Moore said investigators will try to reconstruct Powell’s movements to see if he left “a path of destruction behind him that we have not yet determined.”
Authorities said the first shooting happened at 3:10 a.m. on Sunday in South L.A., when 37-year-old Jose Bolanos was found dead in an alleyway near 110th Street and Vermont Avenue. Bolanos was sleeping on a couch when he was shot, Moore said.
Roughly 24 hours later, Diggs, 62, was shot in the 600 block of Mateo Street in the Arts District. Diggs was pushing a shopping cart and had stopped to plug in his phone, according to Moore, who said the victim was about to go to sleep when the assailant opened fire.
The third shooting occurred Wednesday around 2:30 a.m. near Avenue 18 and Pasadena Avenue in the Lincoln Heights area, where the body of a 52-year-old Latino man was discovered. Police have not released the man’s identity yet, pending notification of his family.
The shootings came to light Friday hours before a gunman shot five homeless people beneath a Las Vegas freeway overpass, authorities said. One man died of his injuries and another was in critical condition. The other victims were listed as stable, police said. No one has been arrested in that case.
Murder charges are expected to be filed early next week, according to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón. He said prosecutors will consider filing special circumstances enhancements in the case. If that happens, Powell would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The spasm of violence sparked immediate concern among the city’s homeless populations and those who minister to people living on the city’s streets. In an emergency meeting with outreach coordinators and service providers on Friday afternoon, LAPD officials asked advocates to urge people to either seek shelter space for the night or at least stay in groups until the killer was caught.
News of the suspect’s arrest on Saturday made Jose Fajardo, 64, feel more at ease.
“This is good news,” he said, smiling. “For those of us living outdoors, it gives us a sense of peace knowing he’s been caught.”
Fajardo was unaware of the killings until a Times reporter informed him about it Friday night. He lives in the Vermont Vista neighborhood, where the first homicide occurred six days ago.
The killings made him rethink scavenging for recyclables Saturday morning, since the slayings often took place during the early hours of the day. Instead, he slept in.
Not far from where Fajardo stayed, 41-year-old Eric Muñoz was sweeping trash outside of his RV. He said he was an acquaintance of Bolanos, the man killed near 110th and Vermont.
“He was cool and never got into arguments with people and would try to avoid conflicts,” Muñoz said. “He often spoke about his family, his daughter and how he wanted to get his life in order and return to them. I told him do it, just go and do it. ”
Hearing of the arrest Saturday afternoon, Muñoz nodded in approval.
“I’m glad they got the person,” he said. “Give him the chair.”
But the arrest did not make Muñoz feel any safer. He’s always on alert, and the killings made him worry that someone could easily attack him while he’s sweeping the area outside of his RV.
“I stay here with my girlfriend, they can also just get in the RV and do something,” he said, pointing to a side window of the vehicle. “Someone already broke a window, so you never know. I’m always on alert.”
In Little Tokyo, 46-year-old Amber Schoen had just returned to her tent after washing her clothes when her sister drove up and rushed toward her.
“She didn’t say hi or anything, she just immediately said, ‘I want you to know there’s a serial killer on a mad rampage killing people who are sleeping on the ground,’” Schoen said. “She just wanted me to be careful.”
Schoen was relieved to hear of the arrest, but said she knows she needs to remain vigilant sleeping on the street.
“You can’t let the foot off the gas, so to speak,” she said. “I try to stay in my tent at night and not go out.”
Times staff writer Richard Winton and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man was shot and killed Tuesday night as he was dining at an L.A. Live restaurant. Another restaurant-goer was injured.
The shooting took place inside Fixins Soul Kitchen, a restaurant at the downtown entertainment complex, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The incident was reported at 6:15 p.m. at the restaurant at 800 W. Olympic Blvd., near Crypto.com Arena.
LAPD Cmdr. Lillian Carranza said the preliminary investigation determined the gunman entered the restaurant where the two victims were separately dining. He shot a 43-year-old man, who collapsed on the ground, and a woman, who suffered a graze wound.
Carranza said the male victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity is being withheld pending notification of family. The female victim was treated at the scene.
The suspected gunman fled the scene in a white Honda, according to authorities. No arrests have been made.
Representatives for Fixins Soul Kitchen, which also has locations in Sacramento and Tulsa, Okla., issued a statement Tuesday night in response to the shooting.
“Fixins Soul Kitchen is shocked and saddened by the incident that occurred this evening at our L.A. location,” the statement read. “Our hearts go out to the victim’s family and loved ones.”
Figueroa Street was closed between Olympic Boulevard and Chick Hearn Court for police to conduct an investigation. Police request that any witnesses of the incident call the LAPD tip line at (800) 222-8477.
For decades, Paul Kessler had been politically engaged — typically advocating for liberal causes — and often sharing his viewpoints in Thousand Oaks’ local newspaper through witty, strongly worded letters to the editor.
The 69-year-old most recently answered a call to help mount a counter-protest in support of Israel at a busy intersection where a pro-Palestinian group had been demonstrating regularly in recent weeks since the Israel-Hamas war had intensified and, along with it, Americans’ perspectives on the conflict.
On Sunday afternoon, Kessler carried an Israeli flag at Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards, where almost 100 people between the two dueling protests had spread around the intersection.
At some point, an altercation broke out between Kessler and one of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators — the details of which remain under investigation.
Kessler ended up on the ground, bleeding with severe head injuries, officials said, and hours later, the Jewish man was dead.
No one has been arrested, but Ventura County sheriff’s officials say an investigation into the death — considered both a homicide and a possible hate crime — is ongoing, with a known suspect.
Witnesses from both sides of the protests shared “conflicting statements” about what led to Kessler’s fatal fall and who the aggressor was, Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said at a Tuesday news conference. Deputies say Kessler fell backward during the altercation, striking his head.
“What exactly transpired prior to Mr. Kessler falling backwards isn’t crystal clear right now,” Fryhoff said.
Shoshi Strikowski, center, and Elena Columbo, in cap, join other community members Tuesday at a growing memorial for Paul Kessler in Thousand Oaks.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
An autopsy shows Kessler died from a blunt force head injury, and the coroner’s office ruled the manner of death a homicide, Ventura County Chief Medical Examiner Christopher Young said. However, Young said the manner of death doesn’t necessarily point to criminal intent, only that the “death occurred at the hands of another person or the actions of another person contributed to the death of a person.” Medical determinations of homicide can be legally ruled self-defense or justified.
Young said Kessler suffered a fatal injury to the back of his head that was “consistent with and typical of injuries sustained from a fall.” Kessler also had “nonlethal injuries” on the left side of his face, which Young said could have been caused by a blow to the face.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said the incident was reported just after 3:20 p.m. Sunday. Deputies who arrived first found Kessler on the ground, bleeding from his mouth and head, but conscious, Fryhoff said. The Thousand Oaks resident remained conscious through testing and care at a hospital, but his condition quickly deteriorated, Young said. He was pronounced dead just after 1 a.m. Monday.
Jonathan Oswaks said he went to Sunday’s protest with Kessler. They had met a few weeks earlier when Oswaks posted a message on the website Nextdoor asking people to demonstrate in support of Israel with him. Kessler responded to the message, and this was their second protest together, he said.
Oswaks, 69, said he saw one of the pro-Palestinian protesters — who he believes is the suspect in this case — hit someone with his megaphone. Oswaks, who was across the street at the time, said he didn’t immediately realize it was Kessler who had been struck and learned later that his friend had been mortally wounded.
“I was broken when I heard,” Oswaks said while standing near a growing memorial of flowers, candles and Jewish symbols left at the intersection.
Jonathan Oswaks, right, is hugged at the memorial for Paul Kessler in Thousand Oaks on Nov. 7, 2023.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
And now, he doesn’t understand why the man hasn’t been arrested.
“They had everything right there,” Oswaks said of the deputies. “The suspect was sitting right there on the curb.”
Bri Oard, a freelance journalist, was driving past the rally when she noticed ambulances and firefighters there, she said.
“I was praying in my head, hoping no violence happened,” she said.
While she did not see Kessler accosted or fall to the ground, she said, she saw paramedics loading a man onto an ambulance. She also saw two law enforcement officers pull a man from the Free Palestine rally, sit him on the curb and speak with him, she said.
The rallies have been taking place every Sunday, Oard said, but this was the first time there was any violence, as far as she knew.
Oard said she did not even realize how serious the incident was until she saw posts on social media.
Kyle Jorrey, a former editor at the Thousand Oaks Acorn, said Kessler had consistently submitted opinion pieces to the newspaper for at least two decades, many of which were published.
Anat Joseph, draped in an Israel flag, leaves American flags at a growing memorial for Paul Kessler.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
“An ardent Democrat, Kessler had a sharp wit and loved a good takedown,” Jorrey wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“He was passionate about political issues (liberal causes) and wasn’t afraid to let people know how he felt,” Jorrey said in a statement to The Times. “Doesn’t surprise me at all that he was out there as a counter protestor even at his age. He attended many demonstrations related to progressive causes.”
In Kessler’s neighborhood in Thousand Oaks, most residents had lowered their blinds and declined to comment.
Kessler’s death has sparked mourning and alarm in Southern California’s Jewish community, with some leaders and public officials expressing outrage.
“We demand safety. We will not tolerate violence against our community. We will do everything in our power to prevent it,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said in a statement.
The Anti-Defamation League called on law enforcement “to launch a thorough investigation to determine who is responsible.”
The Council on American–Islamic Relations released a statement saying it was “deeply saddened by this tragic and shocking loss. We join local Jewish leaders in calling on all individuals to refrain from jumping to conclusions, sensationalizing such a tragedy for political gains, or spreading rumors that could unnecessarily escalate tensions that are already at an all-time high.”
“As details emerge and are confirmed, we stand resolute in condemnation of violence and antisemitism,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Tuesday. “This death is a blow to our region at a time when tensions continue to rise worldwide.”
Community members prepare to address the media at a memorial for Paul Kessler.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Fryhoff said the suspect, identified only as a 50-year-old man from Moorpark, has been cooperative with investigators. He told authorities he was “involved in an altercation” with Kessler before the man fell and hit his head. The suspect was among those who called 911, the sheriff said.
Deputies on Monday briefly detained the man after a traffic stop in Simi Valley while investigators served a search warrant at his home. He was later released, Fryhoff said.
Fryhoff said his deputies are committed to providing safety and protecting the rights of all residents, regardless of faith or identity. He said the agency has increased patrols outside houses of worship and community centers.
The sheriff said surveillance video from a Shell gas station adjacent to where the confrontation occurred did not capture a clear view of the incident. Authorities are asking for the public to submit any video or images from that day. Fryhoff asked anyone with information to contact Det. Corey Stump at (805) 384-4745 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (800) 222-8477.
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Grace Toohey, Jeremy Childs, Richard Winton, Noah Goldberg, Terry Castleman
A gunman shot one person outside the Grove before fleeing the high-end shopping center in a Lamborghini, according to Los Angeles police.
Police were investigating the incident, which was reported at 3:22 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot near Beverly Boulevard and the Grove Drive.
The victim went to a hospital on their own and was later described as stable. Police said the shooter used a handgun, but they had no details of how the shooting occurred. Officers were on their way to the hospital to follow up, a spokesperson said late Thursday afternoon.
The shooter was described as a man with dreadlocks, standing 6 feet tall and wearing a white shirt and black pants. The license plate of the car he was driving was 8WWS816.
Police were outside the popular shopping destination for more than an hour to investigate the shooting.
No additional information was immediately available.
A neighbor of the Brooklyn man gunned down alongside his stepdad in a deadly dispute over noise from their apartment remembered the younger victim Thursday as deserving of a better fate.
Chinwai Mode, 27, was a “polite young man,” the 38-year-old resident told the Daily News. “Didn’t do nothing wrong. No problems. He would help me bring in my groceries, my laundry … That kid didn’t give no problems.”
Mode was shot to death last Sunday alongside his father Bladimy Mathurin, 47, in a caught-on-video double-homicide in which Jason Pass opened fire to end a long-running noise complaint against the neighbors living above his mother’s apartment, police said. Pass, also 47, was himself shot to death Wednesday morning on a Brooklyn street after charging at police officers with a knife in his hand, cops said.
Chinwai Mode was shot and killed in a fourth-floor hallway outside his apartment on Sunday in Brooklyn.
The neighbor said he believed Pass confronted the two victims with murder on his mind.
“Everything was ready to go,” he said. “That gun was already cocked. He came for blood … I wish the streets caught up with him. But he got what he deserved.”
A 27-year-old female neighbor said the senseless shootings left her feeling bad for everyone involved.
“Three lives lost because of a noise complaint,” she said. “I feel like it just got to a point it shouldn’t have gotten. I don’t think he should have gone up there with a gun if it was just going to be a complaint.”
An online fundraising effort was launched to raise money for the Mathurin family to relocate from the building where the twin homicides occurred, noting their once-happy home had now become a crime scene. The gunman’s mother was also still residing one floor below the mourning family.
“Imagine having to relive the gruesome death of a loved one at the hands of a murderer every time you walk into your apartment,” read the appeal. “That’s the reality of Bladimy Mathurin’s widow, his 10-year-old daughter, 18-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter who witnessed the earth-shattering executions.”
The body-building father “was a source of inspiration and an example of gallantry for his son, Chinwai, a music lover whose light will be deeply missed as well,” the message continued.
A high-ranking police source told The News that cops have yet to find the gun Pass used to kill his two victims inside a hallway of their East Flatbush Gardens building. The weapon was not inside the car driven by the suspect before his deadly confrontation with the NYPD, the source indicated.
Pass served eight years in the U.S. Army, deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq while earning numerous medals, his sister told The News. He also worked at the World Trade Center site after the 9/11 attacks.
“He was a brother, an uncle, a son, a cousin,” she said. “If I could turn back time, I would. But he’s in heaven with his father.”
Another building resident told The News that he wanted to move out of his apartment in the aftermath of the murders. The 34-year-old neighbor said he had a similar issue with noisy neighbors, adding the walls and the floors of the residence were too thin.
“When I heard the situation was exactly like mine, I was shocked,” he said. “It’s because of disrespect. This is the lesson for all of us. It’s all about the respect.”
The Los Angeles Police Department announced Saturday that it has been “temporarily” barred from YouTube after the department put up footage of a violent attack on the video web site.
“The YouTube channel for LAPD HQ has been temporarily suspended after we posted a video of a brutal attack in Pacific Division asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects,” the LAPD said on social media site X. “We have appealed the suspension and have been denied.”
YouTube, which is owned by Google, didn’t immediately provide comment.
The LAPD has an extensive YouTube channel, with 69,000 subscribers. The department regularly posts videos, including graphic footage from officers’ body cameras. Some videos come with warnings about the violent imagery.
The department also uses its YouTube channel to post interviews with Chief Michel Moore, public service announcements and department news.
LAPD Officer Drake Madison told The Times on Saturday that the video that prompted the suspension was of a violent incident in the Venice area. He declined to comment further on the YouTube suspension.
A news release this week from the department described the attack and how two suspects punched a man and hit him in the head with bolt cutters. The LAPD said the man sustained “significant injuries to his head” and was knocked unconscious in the Sept. 28 incident near the intersection of Speedway and Market Street. The two suspects fled on bicycles.
A video of the incident that accompanied the news release was removed “for violating YouTube’s Terms of Service,” according to a note on YouTube.
Video of the incident also is posted on the X account run by the LAPD, where it remains.
A note from the LAPD about the suspension states that until the “issue can be resolved,” critical news briefings will be posted on the LAPD’s website.
A 32-year-old man is in custody after being charged in the murder of a musician whose body was found inside a barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach this summer.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives arrested Joshua Lee Simmons earlier this month. He is charged in the killing of Javonnta Murphy, who authorities say was fatally shot before his body was dumped into the lagoon inside a 55-gallon plastic drum.
Prosecutors allege that Simmons shot Murphy to death on July 27, three days before a maintenance worker first spotted the barrel in a shallow water inlet.
The maintenance worker paddled out in a kayak and pulled the container to the shore, but didn’t open it. The next day, a lifeguard saw the same barrel — now back in the lagoon — and swam out and brought it onto the beach, where he opened it and discovered the body.
Joshua Lee Simmons is one of two men arrested and charged in connection with the killing of a man whose body was found in a barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach.
(El Monte Police Dept.)
Simmons is also charged with making criminal threats against a second man on the same day he is accused of killing Murphy. That man, Brandon Gray, was taken into custody at the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station on Oct. 5, but was not charged.
Prosecutors allege that an accomplice, Dennis Eugene Vance, helped cover up the fatal shooting and have charged him as an accessory after the fact.
Simmons is also the suspect in an attempted robbery at Meza Jewelry in El Monte that was thwarted by a store owner. Surveillance cameras captured the burglary suspect around 2 p.m. on Sept. 2 as he walked down Main Street — dressed in all black, wearing a face mask and carrying a cardboard box. Israel Mesa was sprayed with bear repellent by the suspect.
A video identifying Simmons as the suspect was circulated by detectives seeking to apprehend him just days after the attempted robbery.
Simmons and Vance were arrested on Oct. 3. Two days later, Simmons was charged with murder, criminal threats, attempted robbery and two counts of criminal threats against the store owner.
Simmons is being held on $3.275-million bail in L.A. County’s Men’s Central Jail and is due back in court on Nov. 3. He has yet to enter a plea. Vance has been released on bond listed as $50,000 and is also set to appear that day.
Simmons has a history of violent offenses, including a 2019 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a crime in 2013.
Murphy, 32, was living in Sylmar at the time he was killed and was pursuing a career in music, according to authorities and a family friend. He grew up in South Los Angeles with his four brothers — two older and two younger, said Patrick Nelson, 46, a family friend who dated Murphy’s mother and considered himself a stepfather of sorts to Murphy.
After the death of Murphy’s grandmother, who anchored their family, Murphy moved into an apartment of his own in Sylmar, Nelson said. He was pursuing a career in rapping and dreamed of becoming a successful artist, Nelson said.
Murphy spent his free time lifting weights and running, Nelson said, and was father to a young son.
“He was a good kid, good person. He didn’t gang-bang. What happened to him, I just don’t understand,” Nelson said.
Murphy’s naked body was inside a barrel that contained markings suggesting it came from a printing company.
A man was arrested early Wednesday morning after allegedly attempting to break into a Studio City home and reportedly threatening the Jewish occupants — an incident authorities say is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The home invasion was reported around 5 a.m. in the 3000 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The suspect, identified only as a man in his 30s, is accused of entering the home’s backyard and trying to kick in a door; he was held at bay by an occupant who then contacted the police.
KTTV-TV Channel 11 reported that the person who called police said the suspect had “threatened to kill them because they were Israeli,” and that the home’s occupants were Jewish.
Footage captured by the television station showed the suspect yelling, “Free Palestine” several times after being placed into the back of an LAPD vehicle.
In additional footage taken by a neighbor, the man can be heard yelling incoherent responses to police and stating that he was not armed.
LAPD officials said the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it a “vile act of hate.”
“In the wake of the terror and violence inflicted over the previous weeks, this is one of the worst fears of Jewish families across our country — hatred spilling across the threshold, destroying the sense of safety and sanctuary in a home,” Bass said. “We remain steadfast in support of the Jewish people. The people of Los Angeles will not cower to hate.”
Bass said the LAPD would continue to conduct increased patrols and called on officials “to take action to ensure the person responsible for this heinous act is held fully accountable.”
ST. CHARLES, Mich. (WNEM) – Two St. Charles neighbors, who are concealed pistol holders, are being credited with detaining a home invasion suspect until law enforcement arrived at the scene.
The incident unfolded about 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 25 when the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a disorderly suspect who was jumping on a car and yelling.
While deputies were being dispatched to the scene, the suspect broke into a house on Sanderson Street in the village of St. Charles, Undersheriff Miguel Gomez said.
Two neighbors saw the incident unfold and they believed the house the suspect had broken into was occupied so they rushed to help.
The neighbors entered the house about 7:50 a.m. and detained the suspect until the deputies arrived a couple minutes later, Gomez said.
The suspect, a 32-year-old St. Charles man, was then taken into custody.
A 41-year-old woman and her two children, ages 13 and 9, were home at the time of the incident, Gomez said.
No one was injured and the sheriff’s office credits that due to the “quick action” of the two neighbors.
It is unclear what the suspect’s intentions were, but he appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Gomez said.
The suspect has been charged with first-degree home invasion, and malicious destruction of personal property more than $1,000 but less than $20,000.
Three people were killed and two wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia late Sunday night, officials announced, with police urging people at the university’s Charlottesville campus to shelter in place as they search for the suspect.
Police are hunting for a suspect in a shooting at the University of Virginia.
Getty Images
Key Facts
Police and university officials urged people to shelter in place after the shooting at the university’s main campus in Charlottesville late Sunday night.
Police warned the suspect, identified as school student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., is at large and is believed to be “armed and dangerous.”
Jones was described as wearing a burgundy jacket, blue jeans and red shoes and police said he may be driving a black SUV.
The UVA police department said multiple police agencies are working to apprehend Jones, including Virginia State police, who have deployed helicopters.
University president Jim Ryan said he is “heartbroken” to report the shooting had resulted in three fatalities and said the university is working closely to support the families of the victims.
What We Don’t Know
Two victims were injured in the shooting and are receiving medical care, Ryan said in a statement. He said the university will share additional details “as soon as we are able,” adding that the institution will “keep our community apprised of developments as the situation evolves.”
Crucial Quote
“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send,” Ryan wrote in a statement on the shooting. “I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia.”
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