74-Year-Old Man Shot And Killed While Playing Dominoes In South LA

A 74-year-old man was killed while playing dominoes with other elderly men in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles Tuesday night. The victim as identified as Loren Almando Ryan of Los Angeles, according to the LA County Medical Examiner's Office. Officers first received a call about a shooting at 10:25 p.m. at a makeshift game room near Denker and Manchester Avenues, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Investigators said a shooter walked up and opened fire. Warren Howell, who owns a business near the shooting scene, said people get together at the game room every Tuesday and Friday night, and he had spoke with the elderly victim. "He was this quiet person, you know, minding his own business," Howell said. "He came back here to eat food and relax for a minute. It's kind of sad to hear that he'd get shot." The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The LAPD, which did not have suspect descriptions and motive for the shooting, asked for the public's help in identifying the gunman.

NBC 4

Driver, Passenger Viciously Stabbed In Separate Attacks On L.A. Buses

As the union representing Los Angeles Metro bus drivers demands better safeguards for its drivers, two violent, bloody incidents unfolded aboard transit buses over the weekend in less than a 24-hour span. The first of the April 13 stabbings aboard Metro buses occurred at around 1:45 a.m. in the area of Sunset Boulevard and Benton Way in L.A.’s Silver Lake neighborhood. Video of the scene obtained by KTLA shows paramedics carefully lifting a blood-soaked passenger, who was suffering multiple stab wounds, off the bus and onto a gurney. The man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Details are limited and what led up to the grisly stabbing is unclear, but police were able to track down and arrest a suspect who fled from authorities on Benton Way north of Sunset. Authorities have not provided an update on the victim’s condition. Later that evening at around 8:30 p.m. in South L.A., investigators say a Metro bus driver stopped the bus at East 119th Street and Wilmington Avenue when the suspect started yelling at him and then viciously attacked him.  

KTLA 5

2 Women Arrested In Venice Following Robbery

Two women were arrested in Venice after they assaulted and robbed another person, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed today. Just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, officers were sent to the 1400 block of Ocean Front Walk after a 911 caller reported they were assaulted and robbed of their bag, according to the LAPD. Police arrived at the scene and said they located the two suspects, a 26 year-old woman and a 30-year old woman. Both women were arrested near the basketball courts on Venice Beach for robbery, according to the LAPD. No injuries were reported. 

Westside Current

Kanye West Named Suspect In Battery Case In Los Angeles; TMZ Reports Ye Punched A Man

Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was named as a suspect in an alleged battery incident in Los Angeles. FOX 11's Matthew Seedorff reported the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating the controversial star in the battery case. According to a report from TMZ, Ye is accused of punching a man in the face on April 16. The entertainment news outlet alleged the punch may have stemmed from the man pushing or grabbing Bianca Censori, Ye's wife. "‘Grabbed’ is grossly inadequate as a description of what happened. Bianca was physically assaulted," Milo Yiannopoulos, Yeezy’s chief of staff, said in a statement released to FOX 11. "The assailant didn't merely collide into her. He put his hands under her dress, directly on her body, he grabbed her waist, he spun her around, and then he blew her kisses. She was battered and sexually assaulted." The man did not need to hop on an ambulance or need any treatment for allegedly getting punched by Ye, TMZ reports. Officials have not formally announced charges against Ye or the man who claims he got punched.

FOX 11

Sheriff's K-9 Shot, Injured In Compton; Bulletproof Vest ‘May Have Saved His Life'

A Los Angles County Sheriff's Department K-9 was shot by a suspect in Compton early Wednesday night, authorities said, adding that the bulletproof vest the dog was wearing "may have saved his life." About 6:20 p.m., members of the sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau responded to the 100 block of Spruce Street to assist Compton deputies with a search for a person suspected of assault with a deadly weapon and armed with a handgun, the agency said. "During the search, the suspect fired one shot from a firearm, striking K-9 Kjeld 'Kid' once in the right shoulder area," according to a news release. The deputies did not return fire, the statement said. The dog was taken to a veterinarian hospital and treated for his injury, and was later released, the Sheriff's Department said. "At the time of this incident, K-9 Kjeld was wearing his bulletproof vest, which may have saved his life," a Special Enforcement Bureau captain said. The suspect was taken into custody without incident, authorities said.

ABC 7

Man Who Killed 2 New York LEOs May Have Harbored Resentment Against Police, PD Chief Says

Police are investigating whether the Salina shooter who killed two police officers Sunday harbored a decade-old grudge against law enforcement. Christopher R. Murphy, 33, had been arrested once, for drunken driving and resisting arrest in 2014. He later pleaded guilty to a non-criminal violation, a routine outcome for a first-time DWI charge. People who know Murphy told police that he had expressed ill-will toward law enforcement long after his arrest, Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile said. Murphy shot and killed sheriff’s Lt. Michael Hoosock and Syracuse police Officer Michael Jensen Sunday night outside the 4945 Darien Drive residence in Salina where Murphy lived with his parents. He had been using cocaine with a friend before opening fire on the officers, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said. But Cecile said at a news conference Monday afternoon that there was something else about Murphy’s past that might help shed light on what happened. Cecile told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that he was referring to reports that Murphy had told people of his dislike of police. Those reports were all verbal and communicated to police by word-of-mouth, the police chief said. The investigation has not turned up any social media accounts or any other platforms expressing ill will toward police, the police chief said.

PoliceOne

Colorado Governor Signs Law To Add Protections For Police K-9s, Horses

Colorado has introduced new legal protections for law enforcement animals KKTV reported. House Bill 1074, which was signed by Gov. Jared Polis on April 17, categorizes police K-9s and horses under their own legal protection, imposing stricter penalties for those who harm these animals, according to the report. The new law applies to anyone who “commits the offense of aggravated cruelty to animals if the person knowingly or recklessly kills or causes serious physical harm resulting in the death of a law enforcement animal or causes serious physical harm to a degree that the law enforcement animal must be decommissioned from active duty for at least three months.” Violations now carry a mandatory minimum fine of $2,000, plus costs for rehabilitation or replacement of the animal, and may require participation in an anger management or similar treatment program, according to the report. El Paso County Sheriff’s Office K-9 handler Ronnie Hancock has advocated for this law following the death of his K-9 partner, Jinx, in April 2022. “It has been a hard-fought two years, but I think that fighting for Jinx helps me get past some of the heartache of losing him,” Hancock stated at the bill signing.

PoliceOne

Antisemitic Incidents Spike 140% Across US In 2023, Report Says

The number of antisemitic incidents, including assaults and vandalism, spiked across the country in 2023, especially after Hamas militants attacked the Israeli territory of the Gaza Strip, according to the new report. According to the latest report by the Anti-Defamation League, there were 8,873 antisemitic incidents in 2023, a 140% surge from 2022. "2023 was not just a record setting year; it was a record shattering year," Jeffery Abrams with the ADL said. "This is a national emergency." Among them, 1,266 such incidents were recorded in California while 295 of them happened in the Los Angeles area. The report also said there were a total of 161 antisemitic assaults, in which Jewish people or people perceived to be Jewish were targeted with physical violence with evidence suggesting prejudice. One of them happened in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of West LA on Feb. 15, 2023 with a man allegedly shooting and wounding a person who had just left a synagogue, the report said. Federal authorities arrested and charged Jaime Tran, 28, with federal hate crimes for allegedly carrying out the attack. The Jewish advocacy organization also highlighted incidents that it said were “sensitive and threatening to the Jewish community on campus.” One of the on-campus incidents occurred at UCLA where an anti-Israel display included a sign that read, “Israel has managed to turn Jews into Nazis.”

NBC 4

L.A. County Hospital Seeks Public’s Help In Identifying Patient’s Next Of Kin 

A local hospital is asking the public for assistance with identifying the family of one of its patients. According to a release from St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, the patient is a man believed to be around 74 years old. He has “grayish” hair and dark brown eyes, stands 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 158 pounds. The man speaks Mandarin and English but is not able to convey information that would assist hospital staff with finding his family, the release said. Hospital officials believe his name is Ding Meng. Anyone who is a family member or who knows how to reach the patient’s next of kin is asked to contact St. Francis Medical Center’s Social Services Department by calling 310-900-8630. To submit information on weekends or after hospital hours, call 310-900-7993 and ask for the Social Services Department. 

KTLA 5

LA City Council Looks To Prevent Abuse Of Ellis Act

The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday approved recommendations aimed at preventing the abuse of a state law that allows landlords to evict tenants when removing their property from the rental market. Council members voted 12-0 in favor of a motion introduced by Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez last year, which called for "mechanisms" to ensure that tenants receive the maximum protections when facing eviction proceedings, under the state law known as the Ellis Act. Council President Paul Krekorian and Councilman Curren Price recused themselves because they are landlords. Councilman Kevin de León was absent during the vote. "We worked as a council collaboratively to pass some of the strongest tenant protections in this city's history really since the adoption of the RSO (rent stabilization ordinance) four decades ago," Raman said, who chairs the council's Housing and Homelessness Committee. "Today -- and this has been the case for some years now -- we are at risk of losing some of those very RSO units due to Ellis Act evictions."

Westside Current

Council Committee Approves $15 Million Deal To Aid Tenants Of Hillside Villa

A Los Angeles City Council committee Wednesday approved a $15 million deal to aid Chinatown apartment building tenants who have been fighting rent hikes since 2020. The Housing and Homelessness Committee voted 4-0 in favor of the proposal that came out of negotiations between the Los Angeles Housing Department and the landlord, 636 NHP, for the property known as the Hillside Villa Apartments, a 124-unit building constructed in 1989. If approved by the City Council Friday, the 10-year deal would require the city to spend almost $15 million to provide subsidies for dozens of units. Councilman Marqueece-Harris Dawson, who sits on the committee, was absent during the vote. Additionally, Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the First District, which includes Chinatown, said she was able to secure a 6-month extension before tenants’ 6-year repayment period starts. Prior to the vote, Hernandez noted she reviewed the proposal last week and raised concerns regarding the provision that tenants would be required to make back rent payments collected right away.

MyNewsLA

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,900 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education.