Man on cocaine binge during shooting spree killed by police
AZUSA, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - Authorities said Wednesday the man who shot three people in Azusa, one fatally, before being fatally wounded in a shootout with police was on a cocaine binge during the Election Day violence.
Officers from Azusa and Irwindale began to respond to reports of a shooting around 2 p.m. Monday in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, said Deputy Kelvin Moody with the Sheriff's Information Bureau.
Detectives with the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau, who are assisting with the investigation, learned the suspect was on a cocaine binge when he stepped outside of his residence and began shooting at cars, Moody said.
The suspect, a 45-year-old man, shot at a woman driving a van, which later crashed before he walked up to his 77-year-old neighbor and fatally wounded him, Moody said. The man then shot another woman down the street, Moody said.
The female victims, who were both in critical condition early this morning, are 65 and 59 years old, according to Moody. One woman suffered a gunshot wound to the face and the other to the body, said Sheriff's homicide
Lt. John Corina.
Responding officers were shot at by the suspect as they were tending to the wounded victims, said acting Azusa Police Chief Steve Hunt. The officers returned fire, striking and killing the gunman, Moody said.
No officers were wounded in the exchange of gunfire, Hunt said.
A search of the suspect's residence revealed that he was in possession of a handgun, an assault rifle, a shotgun, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, Moody said.
Two people were evacuated from a home behind the house where the suspect was found, Corina said. They heard the shots and sheltered in place until police arrived but did not see the shooting.
The shooting scene was near Slauson Middle School and Mountain View Elementary School, both of which were placed on lockdown. Also locked down were two polling stations -- one at Dalton Elementary School and the other in Memorial Park. By late Tuesday afternoon, the Dalton voting station had been reopened but Memorial Park remained closed.
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office advised voters to visit other polling places to cast a provisional ballot before polling places closed at 8 p.m.
The shooting did not appear to be connected to the election, the polling places or the schools, Corina said.
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