Motorist Shot in Head While Driving in Los Angeles

A motorist is in critical condition after he was shot in the head while driving through the Vermont Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles Friday morning. An assault with a deadly weapon call was reported around 12:15 a.m. in the 1000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed. Responding officers located a Hispanic man in his 50s suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was apparently driving when he was shot and subsequently crashed into two parked cars. The unidentified man was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, the spokesperson said. There was no word on a possible motive for the shooting.

KTLA 5

LA City Looks To Streamline Hiring Of LAPD Sworn Officers

Three Los Angeles City Council members introduced a motion Friday seeking to streamline the hiring process of sworn police officers. Council members Tim McOsker and John Lee co-authored the motion, seconded by Bob Blumenfield, that calls for a report on a framework and analysis for potentially having the Los Angeles Police Department handle the hiring process instead of what is currently the Personnel Department's responsibility. Last year, the City Council approved new labor contracts with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing LAPD's rank-and-file members -- providing an increase in starting salaries and adding retention incentives. The city has experienced an increase in applications for police officer positions. LAPD reported in January it received more than 1,200 applications for sworn police officer positions, representing a two-year high, according to the motion. LAPD also reported significant increases in the number of qualification exams administered and the number of candidates participating in the candidate assistance program, which provides support to eligible applicants navigating the hiring process. "Unfortunately, the city's current lengthy and cumbersome hiring process makes it unlikely that any of these applicants have yet made it through the seven-step hiring process, which includes an initial application, multiple choice test, personal history statement, department interview, polygraph examination, physical fitness qualification, medical evaluation, field investigation and a psychological evaluation," the motion reads.

Westside Current

Los Angeles Police Release Images Of Suspects In Fatal Shooting Of Actor Johnny Wactor

Security images of the suspects in the May 25 shooting death of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor in downtown Los Angeles were released Sunday by Los Angeles police. Wactor, 37, was killed after confronting three men who jacked up his car on Hope Street near Pico Boulevard in order to steal its catalytic converter, authorities said. He had just finished a late night bartending shift at the nearby Level 8 bar when he was shot about 3:20 a.m. Police said the man who shot him has a tattoo above his left eye and on the right cheek, according to a Community Alert Notification released Sunday on X. The getaway car was described as a stolen 2018, black, four-door Infiniti Q50 with a tan interior. Police also released grainy security images of the three suspects and of the Q50 driving down the street. The suspects fled northbound on Hope Street after the shooting. Police attempted to pull fingerprints from Wactor’s car and link the crime to any nearby catalytic converter thefts. The police are seeking the public’s help in solving the crime. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Central Bureau detectives Howarth at (213) 996-4143 or Bobadilla at (213) 996-4173.

Los Angeles Times

1 Dead, 1 Injured In Boyle Heights Shooting

One man is dead and another injured following a shooting in Boyle Heights Saturday afternoon. The shooting happened in the 3000 block of Wabush Avenue, according to the LAPD. The deceased is believed to be in his 20s. The other shooting victim was transported to a hospital where his condition is unknown. No arrests were made and a suspect description was not immediately available. 

NBC 4

Man Fatally Wounded In South LA Near Traffic Crash

A man was shot to death in South Los Angeles Sunday, near the site of a vehicle crash that might have been related to the shooting, authorities said. Police received several calls just before 3 a.m. Sunday reporting gunshots heard in the 5200 block of South Vermont Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers found a man in his 30s suffering from gunshot wounds. Paramedics rushed him to a hospital, where he died, police said. A traffic crash also occurred at the shooting location, where two people self-transported to a hospital, police added. Detectives were at the scene attempting to determine if the incidents were related. Anyone with information about the shooting or the traffic crash was urged to call the LAPD’s 77th Street station at 323-786-5077, or during non-business hours or on weekends, at 877-527-3247.

MyNewsLA

Vehicle Nearly Crashes into Los Angeles Police Department Station

A car nearly collided with a Los Angeles Police Department’s station Sunday morning. According to LAPD Media Headquarters Officer Eisenman, the crash was reported at the department’s Olympic Station, located at 1130 Vermont Avenue in L.A.’s Pico-Union neighborhood, just after 9:30 a.m. Video from the scene taken by KTLA shows the car — an older model red Ford Focus hatchback — stopped within inches of the station’s front door, almost as if the driver had deliberately parked there. The station did not appear to be damaged.

KTLA 5

A Home In The Pacific Palisades Was Burglarized Twice In Less Than 7 Hours

While the residents of a Pacific Palisades house were away late Saturday and into early Sunday, a crew of suspects allegedly burglarized the empty home not once, but twice in about a seven-hour span. The first burglary was reported on Embury Street at about 10 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The suspects allegedly entered the home from a second-story window. Just hours later, at 4:30 a.m., police learned of a second break-in — this time the suspects smashed through a sliding-glass door on the first floor. Police said that the two burglaries were likely performed by the same two men. Both were believed to be armed. As of Sunday evening, it’s unclear what was stolen from the home. A neighbor told KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw that the neighborhood is generally safe, which could have put a target on the home. The suspects fled the home before police arrived in both instances. No other identifying information was immediately made available.

KTLA 5

Florida Deputy Killed, 2 Others Wounded In Ambush Shooting

Authorities have released the name of a Florida sheriff’s deputy killed in what officials called an ambush shooting that wounded two other deputies as they tried to reach him after all responded to a disturbance in a home. Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link died “heroically serving his community and fellow deputies” after the gunfire Friday night at a home in rural Eustis, Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said Saturday in a post on the office’s Facebook page. Two suspects were killed and a third was wounded when police stormed the home in an attempt to retrieve Link, who had been shot and was trapped inside, officials said. Police received a report of a disturbance around 8 p.m. and two deputies went to one home before being directed to another home where they found a door that appeared to have been kicked in, Grinnell told reporters early Saturday morning. “When the deputies entered the home, there was a lot of gunfire,” Grinnell said. One deputy was shot and trapped inside while the other retreated, he said. More officers then arrived and formed a team to enter the house but were met with “a hail of gunfire” that struck another deputy, Grinnell added. One deputy, later identified as Link, did not survive, Grinnell said.

Associated Press

Armed Robber Accused Of Shooting Two NYPD Sergeants Charged With Attempted Murder

A robber who shot and wounded two New York Police Department sergeants with one bullet after a wild chase on a Lower East Side street has been charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, cops said Friday. Joshua Dorsett, 22, was being pursued by cops after sticking up several women Thursday afternoon inside a mah-jongg parlor on Canal St. near Eldridge St. when he opened fire on the two sergeants after they caught up to him, police said. Some neighbors at the Alfred E. Smith Houses, where police said Dorsett lives, were shocked to hear he had been accused of shooting two cops, but others said he’d long seemed troubled. “Oh my God. I know him,” one woman who did not provide her name told The New York Daily News Friday. “He’s just a very lost kid.” Another resident, a 29-year-old man, said Dorsett worked as a security guard at the Mall at Bay Plaza in Co-op City in the Bronx. “He wouldn’t do that if he were in the right state of mind. That’s not him.” Dorsett is a member of the Up the Hill gang, whose members were responsible for the execution-style murders of a man and woman from the Lower East Side in May 2022, police said.

New York Daily News

L.A. Hospital Seeks Help Identifying Injured Woman Found Lying On Ground

A local hospital needs help identifying an injured woman found in Los Angeles. The female patient has been hospitalized since July 30 at the Los Angeles General Medical Center. She was found lying on the ground on Main Street in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of L.A., hospital staff said. She is around 24 years old, stands 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs around 99 pounds. She has brown hair, hazel eyes and a thin frame. The extent of her injuries was not released. Hospital staff notes the woman has no identifiable tattoos or scars. She does not have any personal belongings to help workers identify her. A photo was released in hopes someone might recognize her. Anyone who recognizes the patient or has additional information is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6884.

KTLA 5

Excessive Heat Expected Across SoCal This Week

The heat is on again for much of Southern California, thanks to another high-pressure system, with temperatures expected to slowly rise throughout the weekend and into next week. Potentially "dangerous and significant heat risks across the interior" are anticipated by Sunday or Monday, and continuing "through most of next week," National Weather Service forecasters said. Monday and Tuesday are expected to be the warmest days. Another excessive heat watch will take effect Sunday morning in the Antelope Valley and remain in place until Tuesday night, with temperatures possibly reaching as high as 107 degrees. Excessive heat watches will also be in effect for the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, where the mercury could rise to 103, and in the San Gabriel Mountains, Antelope Valley foothills and 5 and 14 Freeway corridors, where highs are expected around 100. A heat advisory has also been issued for the Santa Ana mountains and foothill regions in Orange County from 10 a.m. Saturday until 11 p.m. Tuesday, with temperatures ranging from the mid-90s to 102 in the forecast. As usual, the coast will be the best place to avoid the heat, with temperatures only rising about one to three degrees above normal, according to the NWS.

NBC 4

LA Councilmembers Introduce Formal Opposition Of Proposed Albertsons-Kroger Merger

Five Los Angeles councilmembers introduced a resolution Friday intended to formalize the city's position against a proposed mega-merger of grocery giants, which would impact 579 stores including 63 locations in California. During a news conference, Councilwoman Traci Park led her colleagues -- Heather Hutt, Tim McOsker, John Lee and Hugo Soto-Martinez, co-authors of the resolution -- in sending a clear message to the city's federal partners that L.A. is "unequivocally opposed'' to the merger between Albertsons and Kroger. They say the proposed merger is anti-competitive, would lead to higher prices and would undermine workers and communities across the city. "We're going to oppose this merger because it's bad for our consumers," said McOsker. "It's bad for our constituents. It's bad for our families. It is certainly bad for our workers today and for the workers tomorrow." The proposed merger has been hit with a number of lawsuits. Earlier this year, Kroger CEO sent a memo to employees at all of the affected stores notifying them of the plans to spin off the locations to C&S Wholesale Grocers if the merger goes through. All employees are expected to be able to maintain their employment with C&S, officials have said.

ABC 7

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.