Good Morning. On March 13th, LAPD Officer Elizabeth Velasco was involved in a horrific, off-duty car accident. Officer Velasco sustained severe injuries to her neck and spine. The road to recovery will be a long one. Her rehabilitation will require long hours of extensive physical therapy which can become financially exhausting. Click here to help support Officer Velasco's recovery.
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‘Heroic' Boulder Officer Killed In Colorado Shooting Was Father Of Seven
The Boulder police officer who was killed responding to a mass shooting at a grocery store in Colorado is being praised for his heroic actions that likely helped prevent a greater loss of life. Officer Eric Talley was the first officer to arrive at the King Soopers supermarket after receiving calls of a "possible person with a patrol rifle," according to Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold. He was fatally shot at the scene by a lone gunman who was armed with a high-powered rifle. Ten people, including Talley, were killed in the attack that sent terrorized shoppers and workers scrambling for safety. The suspect was in custody authorities said. Herold called Talley's actions "heroic" while praising all officials who responded to the shooting. “I’m grateful for the police officers that responded, and I am so sorry about the loss of Officer Talley,” a visibly emotional Herold said fighting back tears. The 51-year-old had been with the Boulder Police Department since 2010. Talley was the father of seven. His youngest child is just 7 years old.
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10 Killed In Supermarket Shooting In Boulder, Colorado
A gunman opened fire in a Colorado supermarket Monday, killing 10 people including a police officer, authorities said. One person was taken into custody at the scene in Boulder, where police said there was no ongoing threat to the public. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold identified the slain officer as 51-year-old Eric Talley, who had been with the department since 2010. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Talley's life was "cut much too short," and said a "painstaking investigation is already underway." No other victims were identified. Dougherty said the person in custody was the shooter. CBS Denver helicopter footage captured authorities escorting a shirtless man in handcuffs who appeared to have a bleeding leg from the scene, but authorities would not confirm if that man is the suspect. Witnesses described a chaotic scene as several loud bangs went off in the store. One man said he first thought someone had dropped something but by the third shot, he said, everyone started running.
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Adam Dimmerman, 47, Charged With Murder In Violent Encino Attacks That Left 100-Year-Old Man Dead
Adam Dimmerman — a 47-year-old Santa Barbara man accused of killing 100-year-old Youssef Mahboubian — was charged Monday with murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. According to the LAPD, officers were initially called to Mahboubian’s home in the 17700 block of Alonzo Place, north of the Encino reservoir, at about 12:50 p.m. When officers arrived at the scene, Mahboubian was found dead in the garage. According to the coroner’s office, Mahboubian died of “multiple sharp force injuries.” An hour earlier, police responded to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 400 block of Coronet Drive where a man was found to have suffered lacerations to his left arm. That man had apparently followed Dimmerman from Mahboubian’s residence and called police. Investigators said an axe and a knife were recovered when Dimmerman was arrested by police. Detectives said they believed Dimmerman was responsible for both attacks. Dimmerman, who is being held on $2 million bail, was scheduled to be arraigned late Monday afternoon at the Van Nuys courthouse.
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Employee Shot During A Robbery At San Pedro Domino’s Pizza
An employee was shot during a robbery at a Domino’s Pizza restaurant in San Pedro Monday evening. The shooting occurred at Gaffey and 15th streets just before 8 p.m., police said. The victim was taken to a hospital. His condition is unknown. Police do not have a suspect description.
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Dog Seriously Wounded In 101 Freeway Shooting
A dog was seriously wounded but two people escaped injury when someone in a car fired gunshots into another car on the Ventura (101) Freeway in Agoura Hills, authorities said Monday. The shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. Sunday on the northbound 101 Freeway north of the Lost Hills under-crossing, according to California Highway Patrol Officer A. Magana. "For unknown reasons, a white Dodge Charger, occupied by an unknown number of suspects, fired approximately four to five rounds at the victim vehicle," the officer said. "The male and female occupant of the victim vehicle were not struck. However, the dog was struck with possibly fatal injuries to the torso." CHP officers took the dog to the West Valley Pet Clinic for treatment, Magana said. Officers were seen inspecting the car riddled with bullet holes at a gas station off the 101 freeway on Kanan Road. Anyone who saw the shooting or has information was asked to call Magana at the CHP's West Valley Area office at 818-888-0980.
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LAPD, Asian American Business Leaders Implore Residents To Report Acts Of Hate To Police
Local leaders and police in Los Angeles are imploring anyone who witnesses a hateful attack on Asian Americans to report these incidents to law enforcement. Outside the RadioKorea building in the heart of Koreatown, the presidents of four ethnic chambers of commerce — flanked by LAPD commanders and Councilman John Lee — asked for residents of all races to stand up against hate. Their pleas come after deadly shootings last week at three Atlanta spas killed eight people, six of Asian descent. While police have not settled on the shooter’s motive in the killings, the attack increased concerns over a spate of high-profile attacks on Asian Americans across the country widely blamed on rhetoric over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. An early March report by LAPD pointed to a 114 percent increase in hate crimes targeting Asians, from seven in 2019 to 15 last year. LAPD Deputy Chief Blake Chow on Monday said the department was taking the increase in reports of hate crimes seriously. He said police would be devoting more officers to patrol areas of the city like Koreatown, Little Tokyo and Thai Town. He said LAPD had updated its training to inform officers daily about what constitutes a hate crime versus a hate incident. He said the department was tracking both types of reports.
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Rapper ‘NBA YoungBoy’ Arrested In LA, Taken Into FBI Custody
Rapper NBA YoungBoy was arrested on Monday afternoon and taken into FBI custody in the Los Angeles area. The 21-year-old rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, was wanted on an outstanding warrant. At around 11 a.m., police attempted to stop the vehicle he was in while driving through Tarzana. The vehicle didn’t pull over, prompting a short pursuit, which ended with the rapper trying to flee on foot. He was arrested and taken into custody around 1 p.m. Back in September, the Baton Rouge rapper was among 16 people arrested on drug and firearm charges in Louisiana. Gaulden also served 90 days in jail in 2019 after a judge handed down a temporary probation hold in a 2016 nonfatal shooting case. Prosecutors moved to dismiss his probation completely, which would have sent him to prison for 10 years, following his involvement in a Miami shootout in 2019 that left a bystander dead.
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Authorities Probe Fatal Shooting Of Man In Maywood
Authorities on Sunday continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a man in Maywood. The shooting unfolded in the 3500 block of 56th Street in the city of Maywood just after 12:20 a.m. Sunday. It was then that authorities responded to the location following a “shots fired” call. When they arrived on scene, they located a man. He was transported to a hospital for treatment of a single gunshot wound. He died at the hospital. A motive remains unknown. No suspect information was available at this time. Anyone who may have witnessed the shooting was asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
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Ex-UCLA Coach Gets 8 Months In Prison For Admissions Scam
A former University of California, Los Angeles men’s soccer coach was sentenced to eight months behind bars Friday for pocketing $200,000 in bribes to help applicants get into the school as bogus athletic recruits. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate for cash after buying a house his family couldn’t afford. Salcedo said he takes complete responsibility for his actions that have destroyed the life he knew. “I am a different man than I was two years ago and I will never make decisions like this again,” Salcedo said during a hearing held via videoconference. Salcedo’s is one of the longest sentences that have been handed down so far in the case dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” which in 2019 uncovered a scheme to get wealthy parents’ kids into elite universities with fake athletic credentials or bogus test scores. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani told Salcedo he chose “what appeared to be the easy path” to fix his financial woes, adding that “it invites the logic that if this hadn’t been stopped it would have continued.” The admissions consultant at the center of the scheme paid Salcedo $100,000 to help a California couple, Bruce and Davina Isackson, get their daughter into UCLA as a bogus soccer recruit, authorities say. Salcedo convinced women’s coaches to recruit her and created a coverup story when school compliance officials questioned her soccer background, prosecutors said.
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A Guide To Understanding Mass Shootings In America
A mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado, left 10 people dead less than a week after a spate of shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area claimed eight lives, including six Asian women. The type of public mass shooting that dominates headlines has been less common in America over the past year, though mass shootings of a less visible sort have indeed been occurring ever since the start of the pandemic — and at increased rates. When The Trace analyzed shootings with four or more injuries from the first two-thirds of 2020, we found that more than half took place in majority-Black census tracts. Less than 10 percent of census tracts nationally have majority Black populations. Here’s the big picture on mass shootings in America, and how they fit into our country’s epidemic of gun violence. There is no official definition of “mass shooting,” though it is often understood as an incident in a public place that claims four or more lives, and attracts widespread media coverage. In the last five decades, these events have become far more common. Other groups, like Gun Violence Archive, use a much broader definition for what counts as a mass shooting, sweeping in incidents that happen in homes, and where there are four or more casualties — not just deaths.
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66-Year-Old Man Dies In Hancock Park Apartment Fire
A 66-year-old man died Monday in an apartment fire in Hancock Park. Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters responded to 525 N. Sycamore Ave., between Rosewood Avenue and Clinton Street, near La Brea Avenue, at about 4:10 p.m. on reports of a structure fire. Arriving fire companies located a fire in one unit on the top floor of an apartment building and were able to extinguish it within 16 minutes, according to Margaret Stewart of the LAFD. Firefighters located the man in the unit and pulled him out, transferring him to paramedics waiting at the building’s exit, Stewart said. The paramedics provided immediate advanced lifesaving care for severe smoke inhalation while conducting a rapid transport to a trauma center. The man was pronounced dead at the hospital by emergency room staff, Stewart said. The man’s name was not released.
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LA Officials Worry Of COVID Case Surge After Spring Break
Spring break has arrived and more and more people are starting to travel once again, leaving public health officials to remind locals and visitors about travel restrictions still in place as they hope to stop another surge like the one after the holiday season. During spring break in the past, Hollywood boulevard has been absolutely packed along the Walk of Fame, but the Boulevard remained pretty calm on Monday. Tourists said they’ve noticed businesses have been closed, but they still want to take advantage of spring break -- while trying to stay safe. Despite calls from public health officials to stay home for spring break, many tourists were flocking to Los Angeles. "I feel safe," tourist Ingrid Brizzee said. "It’s been fun. We haven’t really worried too much about it. Things are definitely stricter here than in Idaho." Tour buses are still taking riders along the Hollywood Hills, even though several of the overlooks are closed. Many business along Hollywood Boulevard still haven’t opened their doors during the pandemic. LA County Public Health officials talked about the fear of a surge Monday, and reminded everyone that the travel advisory is still in effect saying travelers need to quarantine for 10 days.
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City Plans To Close Echo Park Lake And Clear Homeless Encampment
Under a veil of secrecy, Los Angeles city officials and homeless services providers are rushing to move as many homeless people as possible from Echo Park Lake this week in advance of an expected sweep to remove more than 100 tents and fence the entire park for repairs. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who has said he planned to close the park, has declined to confirm the timetable, but a source with direct knowledge of the process told The Times that the city plans to clear the encampment Thursday, fence the park and close it for renovations. O’Farrell spokesman Tony Arranaga declined to confirm that date, saying only that the city has been working to move people from the area into hotels. “When official notices of the closure are posted by the Department of Recreation and Parks, our office will alert the public and the media,” Arranaga said. Outreach workers have been registering as many people living in the park as possible and taking them to hotels being rented by the city for homeless people.
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