Fatal Shooting in South LA

A man in his 40s was fatally shot in the Green Meadows neighborhood of South Los Angeles and police Tuesday are continuing their investigation of the shooting. Los Angeles Police Department officers from the department’s Southeast Division were called to the area of Avalon Boulevard and 93rd Street at 10:30 p.m. Monday regarding a shooting call. When they arrived, the officers found the victim on the sidewalk, suffering from an unknown number of gunshot wounds, an LAPD officer told City News Service. The victim was taken to UCLA Harbor Hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department personnel, where he was pronounced dead, police said. There were no suspects in the victim’s shooting.

MyNewsLA

Police release video of hit-and-run suspect that killed pedestrian near downtown LA

Detectives are still searching for the hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a pedestrian near downtown Los Angeles in early January, and in hopes of finding new leads, they've released video to the public. The crash happened back on Jan. 12 at around 12:50 a.m. near the intersection of Third Street and Lucas Avenue, according to a release from the Los Angeles Police Department. Investigators believe that the victim, who has since been identified as 41-year-old Joshua David Hathaway, was walking near the intersection when he was hit by the driver of a white 2018 to 2022 model Honda Accord traveling westbound on on Lucas Avenue. "The driver of the vehicle continued driving west on 3rd Street and fled the location, failing to stop and identify him/her self, and/or render aid as required by law," LAPD said. Hathaway was declared dead at the scene by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics. While they continue their search for the driver, police have released surveillance footage from the area that shows the suspect's car. 

CBS 2

Hours-long standoff with allegedly armed man ends in Harbor City

An hours-long standoff with an allegedly armed suspect finally came to an end early Tuesday evening in Harbor City. Police were called to the 25700 block of Belle Porte Avenue just after 10:20 a.m. for reports of a man who had a gun, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. They say that the man had barricaded inside of a shed on a property in the area, prompting their standoff to begin. Eventually, police were able to flush the suspect out of the shed by using tear gas. As SkyCal arrived over the scene of the standoff, the man could be seen as he was loaded into the back of an ambulance and taken to a hospital for treatment on injuries of unknown nature. 

CBS 2

Police investigate shooting that left 3 injured in Pico Union area

Police are investigating a shooting that left three people wounded in the Pico Union area Monday evening. The shooting was reported around 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of Normandie Avenue and West 15th Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police said all three victims were taken to a hospital. Suspect information was not immediately available.

NBC 4

LAPD arrests man who pointed laser at helicopter during street takeover

A Gardena man was arrested after he allegedly pointed a high-powered laser at a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter that was responding to a street takeover. It happened just after midnight Saturday morning near the intersection of Alondra Boulevard and Vermont Avenue in Gardena. Officers from the LAPD Street Racing Task Force were responding to a street takeover involving dozens of vehicles blocking the intersection with pedestrians in the roadway. An LAPD helicopter responded to the scene and, while observing the chaos, was struck by a high-powered green laser. The pilot took “immediate action” to avoid the laser strikes, but kept the subject in view as he fled the scene. He was tracked down to a backyard on the 15800 block of Berendo Avenue and was apprehended by officers on the ground. The laser pointer was recovered at the scene. On Tuesday, LAPD officials identified the suspect as 27-year-old Brian Gutierrez, adding that he was arrested for discharging a laser at an aircraft — a felony. He was also found to have a no-bail warrant, police said.

KTLA 5

Motorist on the run after shearing hydrant, causing geyser in L.A. neighborhood

Police are searching for a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene after shearing a fire hydrant in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles early Tuesday morning. The solo-vehicle crash was reported in the 6100 block of Reseda Boulevard just after 2 a.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed at the scene. Video showed a black four-door vehicle went over a curb for unknown reasons and struck the hydrant, causing water to shoot several feet in the air. The driver fled on foot after the crash and remained on the loose, police said during the investigation. Water was seen streaming down the road as Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews at the scene worked to turn a shut-off valve. No injuries were reported in the incident.

KTLA 5

LASD announces $10,000 reward in fatal South LA shooting of 22-year-old woman

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced a $10,000 reward in the case of a 22-year-old woman who was shot and killed in South Los Angeles. Raejonette Morgan was fatally shot last summer while driving her car near the intersection of Vermont Avenue and the 105 Freeway on-ramp. Cellphone video captured several minutes of the shooting aftermath, just minutes after the gunfire ended. It shows Morgan's white Mercedes stopped on the sidewalk with the driver's side window and door riddled with bullets. The woman who shot the video said Morgan was still alive inside the car, motioning for help, but that a sheriff's deputy first on the scene refused to render first aid to her. Morgan died two days later on July 4. The sheriff's department said the deputy was unsure if the person in the car was the shooter or a victim and was calling for backup. Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact LASD's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. You can also call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or submit at tip online on the Crime Stoppers website.

ABC 7

California teen sentenced to 4 years in prison for making hundreds of ‘swatting’ calls across the US

A California teenager was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison in a case involving hundreds of swatting calls, including to a Florida mosque among other institutions and individuals, federal prosecutors said. Alan W. Filion, 18, pleaded guilty in November to four counts of making interstate threats to injure the person of another. Swatting is the practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to get a large number of armed police officers dispatched to a particular address. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Filion made more than 375 swatting and threat calls from August 2022 to January 2024. Those calls included ones in which he claimed to have planted bombs in targeted locations or threatened to detonate bombs and/or conduct mass shootings at those locations, prosecutors said. He targeted religious institutions, high schools, colleges and universities, government officials and people across the United States, prosecutors said. Filion, of Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, was 16 at the time he placed the majority of the calls.

FOX 11

Fargo officer wounded in 2023 ambush shooting returns to full duty

A Fargo police officer who was critically injured in a 2023 ambush shooting has returned to duty after months of recovery, KMSP reported. Officer Tyler Hawes underwent 19 surgeries over 18 months following the July 2023 attack that killed Officer Jake Wallin and wounded Officer Andrew Dotas, according to the report. Hawes initially rejoined the force on a part-time basis but has now resumed full duty. In a social media post, the Fargo Police Department shared a video of Hawes leaving Sanford Hospital to applause from supporters. “From the moment he could speak in the hospital, he made one thing clear — he was coming back to serve Fargo,” the post said. The shooting occurred on July 14, 2023, when officers responded to what appeared to a crash, according to the report. The gunman had been circling the crash scene for 15 minutes before parking his vehicle and opening fire. Gunman Mohamad Barakat killed Wallin, 23, and critically wounded Hawes and Dotas, as well as a civilian involved in the crash, Karlee Koswick. Officer Zach Robinson, who was the only officer left standing, returned fire, fatally shooting Barakat after a nearly 2-minute confrontation.

PoliceOne

At least 1 pet found dead following house fire in Reseda

A family pet was found dead after firefighters extinguished a blaze that erupted at a home in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday morning. The blaze was reported around 8:15 a.m. at a two-story single-family home in the 7000 block of North Wilbur Avenue. “Companies have had multiple challenges to overcome during this incident, including multi-level roofs, one double-layered roof, and very limited access to the second floor of a large addition,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Lantz said. The residents of the home we able to get out safely but firefighters learned there were pets still unaccounted for on the second floor. More than 50 firefighters eventually put out the blaze but did find at least one dog deceased inside the home, Lantz said. There was no immediate word on what caused the fire.

KTLA 5

Where and when rain is forecast to hit wildfire burn scars across the Los Angeles area

Forecasters released a breakdown Tuesday of where and when heavy rainfall this week is expected to hit areas of Southern California left burn-scarred by recent wildfires, raising the risk of potentially dangerous debris flows in those parts of the region. Debris flows and mudslides are most common during a period of intense rain following wildfires, the rain potentially destabilizing the terrain that was scorched barren and carrying land, mud and even sometimes larger objects like boulders, according to the National Weather Service. Areas of Los Angeles County left burn-scarred by the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires last month are among the areas where forecasters are warning of possible flooding and debris flows triggered by rainfall this week. Those burn scars, along with parts of the region burned by the Franklin Fire in the Malibu area and the Bridge Fire in the Angeles National Forest last year, are the areas at greatest risk of seeing debris flows, forecasters say. 

CBS 2

Worst flu season in years swamps California: ‘Particularly long and difficult’

The worst flu season in years is swamping California, prompting a renewed surge in hospitalizations as officials warn the disease could continue circulating at high levels for weeks to come. By one measure, this season has already been more potent than any seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. The rate at which flu tests returned positive results at the state’s clinical sentinel labs surged to 27.8% for the week ending Feb. 1, the most recent for which complete data are available. That’s higher than the peak of the “tripledemic” winter of 2022-23, when California’s hospitals were stressed by simultaneous high circulation of flu, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. “We’re still on the way up,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease expert at UC San Francisco, said of flu. Since the pandemic began, he said, “this is the first time that we’re mainly talking about flu rather than COVID.”

Los Angeles Times

LA City Council Advances Tax Relief for Businesses Impacted by Wildfires

The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday updated a proposal intended to expand tax relief for businesses impacted by the January wildfires. In a 12-0 vote, council members directed the City Attorney’s Office to make a few changes to the proposed ordinance, which seeks to waive 2025 taxes for businesses that were destroyed or whose operations were interrupted for 60 days or more. Councilwomen Traci Park, Nithya Raman and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote. “Thousands of businesses were lost or interrupted during the wildfires,” Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez said. “The impacts have been devastating from small businesses like restaurants and cafes to gardeners and housekeepers.” “There are countless Angelenos who lost important records and equipment, and will now struggle to file their 2025 business taxes,” she added. “As a city, we have to take action to help them and prevent a second wave of crises.”

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.