Man Arrested After Allegedly Shooting At LAPD Officers Near Compton

Police arrested a man suspected of shooting at LAPD officers during a traffic stop near Compton earlier this month, leaving one of them with a graze wound to the head. Officers tried to stop a white Chevrolet sedan at Broadway and Rosecrans Avenue on July 3 and the car started to speed away before suddenly coming to a stop just north of Rosecrans, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. They hadn't even gotten out of their patrol car when the driver shot an automatic weapon and one of the officers returned fire, police said. The head of one of the LAPD officers was grazed by a bullet and left with two wounds, police said. The suspect sped away and managed to avoid arrest when the officers lost sight of the car about 200 yards away near West 135th Street and Broadway. A little over a week later, Malcolm Guss Jr. was arrested on Saturday as the suspect in the deadly shooting. According to LAPD, he stands accused of attempted murder and was booked into police custody and held on $2 million bail. Police have found and seized the suspect's car as well as the firearm believed to have been involved.

CBS 2

Would-be assassin got astonishingly close to Trump, had clear shot. How did security measures fail?

How could a gunman get so close to presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday, coming within inches of killing him at a Pennsylvania rally? That is perhaps the biggest question two days after an assassination attempt that rocked the world and upended the 2024 presidential race. Some experts are describing the event as an epic security failure, questioning how the gunman could have gotten onto the roof of a building located about a football field's distance from Trump's stage and opened fire before being shot by Secret Service agents. 

LA Times

Trump Rally Shooter Appears To Have Acted Alone, FBI Says

The FBI said Sunday that investigators have not yet identified any ideology fueling the gunman who fired at former president Donald Trump at a packed campaign rally, and they believe he carried out the horrifying assassination attempt on his own. The gunman was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, a strong math student in high school who was working as a nursing home employee. Seconds after he opened fire from a rooftop outside the rally’s security perimeter Saturday evening, using an AR-style rifle that was legally purchased by his father, he was fatally shot by the Secret Service, authorities said. “At this time, the information that we have indicates that the shooter acted alone and that there are currently no public safety concerns,” FBI special agent in charge Kevin Rojek said in a telephone briefing. “At present we have not identified an ideology associated with the subject, but I want to remind everyone that we’re still very early in this investigation.” Officials said they had not reached any final conclusions and are still scrutinizing Crooks’s associates to see if anyone aided his violent plan. The wounding of a former president and presumptive nominee at the outdoor event in Butler, Pa., shocked the nation and brought calls for calmer political rhetoric on the eve of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. It also sparked significant questions about what security lapses allowed the gunman to get onto the roof undetected.

Washington Post

3-Year-Old Boy Dies After He And Twin Brother Are Found Unresponsive In Canoga Park; Mother Arrested

A mother of twin 3-year-old boys has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the two toddlers ingested or were exposed to "an unknown substance" in Canoga Park, leaving one of the boys dead and the other hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said Friday. Shortly before 11:30 a.m. Thursday, officers responded to a radio call of a child death investigation in the 20000 block of Sherman Way, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. The boys' mother had "discovered them unresponsive," the news release said. Firefighter-paramedics responded to the scene and transported both children to a hospital, where one of them was pronounced dead, according to the LAPD. The deceased boy was later identified as Josiah James by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. A preliminary investigation indicated that the children "had ingested, or been exposed to, an unknown substance," the police statement said. 

ABC 7

LAPD Arrests 2, Including 16-Year-Old, In Fatal Shooting On Metro Train

A 16-year-old boy and 20-year-old man have been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting on Los Angeles Metro train last month. Oscar Martinez of Los Angeles and the teen, whose identity was not released, were taken into custody on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. On the evening of June 21, Juan Garcia, 38, was fatally shot on the E line near the La Cienega/Jefferson station in West Adams. Garcia was shot in the head with other passengers nearby, police said, and he was declared dead at the scene. “It appears there was some kind of argument between a group of males down here on the ground level,” LAPD Capt. Jamie Bennett said at the time. “They ran up the stairs and boarded a train that had been waiting here to unload passengers. The shooting occurred on the train. Then the suspects left the platform running down the staircase.” Witnesses said three males were involved, though the identity of the alleged third attacker has not been released, and no information has been announced about his arrest.

KTLA 5

2 Stabbed During Fight In Pico Union After Copa América Final

Two people were stabbed in an altercation as fans were watching the Copa América final in Pico Union. Newschopper 4 was over the scene where a large crowd of people were seen cheering and celebrating. Hundreds of people were gathered around an outdoor market. When things started to get rowdy, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a dispersal order. Two people suffered serious stab wounds. They were transported to the hospital and were expected to survive. LAPD said they have not arrested anyone for the stabbings. The investigation continues as they look for surveillance video.

NBC 4

Axe-Wielding Woman Torches Cars In Violent Hollywood Hills Rampage

A woman was arrested after torching vehicles and threatening bystanders with an axe during a violent rampage in the Hollywood Hills Saturday. The incident happened near Argyle and Franklin Avenues at around 10:30 a.m. Cell phone video captured a Toyota Prius being set on fire. As the flames continued growing, an explosion occurred, sending dark smoke billowing into the air. The flames continued growing and eventually spread to a nearby Jeep Cherokee SUV. Witnesses said the female suspect ran into an apartment complex where she reportedly attacked a woman with an axe. She also allegedly threatened other bystanders with the weapon. Los Angeles police responded to the scene and arrested the woman who was seen bloodied. The victim who was targeted was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Firefighters rushed to the scene and eventually extinguished the burning vehicles.

KTLA 5

Woman Arrested In Kidnapping Of 4-Year-Old Girl From Grandmother In Santa Monica

A grandmother went through a terrifying ordeal Friday as her 4-year-old granddaughter was kidnapped from a restaurant in Santa Monica. Fortunately, the suspect was found in less than 30 minutes and the child was safely recovered. The incident unfolded just after noon Friday at a Panda Express restaurant in the 1900 block of Lincoln Boulevard. At 12:11 p.m. police received a frantic call for help from a woman who said her 4-year-old granddaughter had been abducted. Witnesses say the woman had gone to the counter to pay for the meal and somehow the suspect lured the little girl to walk outside with her. They started walking down Pico Boulevard and were out of sight before the grandmother realized the girl was missing. Officers showed up within a minute of the call and collected video images of the incident and the suspected kidnapper, a woman in her 30s.

ABC 7

Authorities Arrest Los Angeles Man In 1984 Slaying In Northern California

A 59-year-old man was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with murder in a brutal 1984 slaying in the Sacramento Valley. The Placer County district attorney’s office announced this week that 59-year-old Richard Raymond Moore had been apprehended and charged with the murder of 69-year-old Madeline Garcia. In 1984, Garcia was attacked, dragged into the alley and killed in the 300 block of Atlantic Street in Roseville, according to the district attorney’s office. A decades-long investigation led authorities to Moore in Los Angeles. On June 27, Moore was arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers and FBI agents, and taken to Placer County. Moore has pleaded not guilty and is being held in jail without bail. He is expected to appear in court July 22. 

Los Angeles Times

California Deploys Dozens Of Officers To Republican National Convention In Wisconsin

California has sent 61 law enforcement officers to Wisconsin to provide support ahead of the Republican National Convention. The request for the additional support had been planned since May and was coordinated by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Service. Officers from Bakersfield, Fresno and Long Beach police departments and 40 members of the California Highway Patrol are being deployed to Milwaukee. “Public safety transcends party lines. California is proud to support our law enforcement colleagues in Wisconsin during this important political event. Working together, we are helping to provide a safe and secure environment for all participants at the Republican National Convention," said California Governor Gavin Newsom. Officers will work alongside local, state and federal law enforcement. Responsibilities include crowd management, traffic control and providing public safety. “It is critical we support our law enforcement colleagues in Wisconsin and the safety of participants at this significant event," said Nancy Ward, Cal OES Director. “California’s peace officers are well-trained and experienced in handling large-scale events, and we are confident in their ability to enhance the security operations in Milwaukee.”

NBC 4

Suspect Arrested, Charged In Death Of Texas Deputy

A suspect was arrested and charged with the fatal shooting of a Houston-area sheriff’s deputy while police were conducting a manhunt following an assault at a pizzeria, authorities said. Deputy Fernando Esqueda, 28, was killed early Thursday morning by a suspect who allegedly pistol-whipped a pizzeria clerk hours earlier, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. Ronald Palmer Jr. was arrested around 7 p.m. Thursday after a manhunt during which Esqueda was killed, Gonzalez said during a news conference Thursday night. Palmer was charged with aggravated assault against the Little Caesars Pizza employee. Gonzalez said at the news conference that he was not charged with Esqueda’s death, but a social media post by Gonzalez later said Palmer had been charged with capital murder. Harris County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of an assault on a clerk at a Little Caesars Pizza in the Houston area just after 10 p.m. Wednesday. A customer who came in to pick up a pizza he ordered got upset because the order was incorrect and pistol-whipped the clerk and fled, Harris County Chief Deputy Mike Lee said. The clerk provided a description of the customer’s vehicle and its license plate number, which was traced to a location where deputies began searching for the vehicle, Lee said.

Associated Press

California Hits ‘Very High’ COVID Levels As Virus In Wastewater Jumps Significantly

Coronavirus levels have jumped significantly in wastewater across the nation, an indication that the summer bump is continuing to grow. National virus measurements in sewage reached “high” levels for the first time this summer, according to estimates released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 is growing or probably growing in 44 states and in the nation’s capital, the agency reported. And for the first time since the winter, California has “very high” coronavirus levels in its wastewater, according to CDC data for the week ending July 6. California was one of seven states in this category; the others are Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Texas. Nineteen other states, covering every region in the country, have high coronavirus levels in sewage. Coronavirus levels in California’s wastewater are now estimated to be significantly higher than last summer. And in Northern California two of the largest sewersheds, covering San Jose and Palo Alto in Santa Clara County (the region’s most populous county), reported high levels of the virus in wastewater.

Los Angeles Times

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.