Thread: Two California polling places on lockdown after shooting; 1 dead

Two Southern California polling places on lockdown after shooting; 1 dead

Published November 08, 2016 FoxNews.com

(Fox 11)

DEVELOPING – A shooting in Azusa, Calif., Tuesday afternoon killed at least one person, wounded three others and put two nearby polling places on lockdown, officials said.

The shooter was still on the loose, according to investigators. One person was dead on arrival Tuesday, two people were airlifted to hospitals and a fourth was being treated, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Gustavo Medina said.

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Critical Incident: Please stay out of the area of Fourth St & Orange Ave. All residents in the area shelter in place.
3:05 PM - 8 Nov 2016

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The L.A. County Registrar’s office confirmed the polling places, Memorial Park and Dalton Elementary School, were locked down.
Officers urged people in the area to shelter in place. “This is a very volatile and critical situation,” Azusa Police Officer Jerry Willison told the Los Angeles Times.

"Voters should avoid the area and, if necessary, cast a ballot at an alternate polling location," L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan said.

Azusa police Officer Jerry Willison said someone fired on officers at the scene, but none of them were hurt. He said the officers had to seek cover.

The shooting unfolded just outside Slauson Middle School, which officials locked down as well, Fox 11 reported.

Details on what may have sparked the shooting were unclear.
Azusa is roughly 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/08...-shooting.html

1 dead, multiple people shot near Azusa polling station as heavily armed assailant opens fire

Los Angeles Times

- ‎38 minutes ago‎

One person was killed and at least three others were wounded Tuesday in an active shooting near a polling place in Azusa. Authorities said police were dealing with at least one female suspect who was heavily armed...

Azusa Police
✔@AzusaPD

1st arriving officers arrived/found multiple shooting victims.. they came under fire... Multiple ofcrs returned fire
4:16 PM - 8 Nov 2016

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Terrorism?

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Terrorism?

Probably not because it wasn't at the polling place, just down the street a ways.

1 dead, multiple people shot near Azusa polling station as heavily armed assailant opens fire


Police are responding to an active shooting in Azusa. (KTLA-TV Channel 5)

Veronica Rocha , Richard Winton, Joseph Serna and Ruben Vives Contact Reporters

One person was killed and at least three others were wounded Tuesday after an assailant armed with a military-style rifle opened fire in a residential area of Azusa, forcing authorities to secure the neighborhood and shut down nearby polling places, sending voters scrambling to find alternate locations.

The shooting led to an hours-long standoff at a house in Azusa, where the assailant was barricaded. At about 5:30 p.m., police removed a body from a home on the block. But it was unclear whether it was the assailant, whom police described as a heavily armed woman. Several witnesses interviewed by The Times, however, said the shooter was a man.

Azusa Police Chief Steve Hunt said they were still trying to determine whether the violence was related to the election.

“It’s very early to tell what the motive is, but it appears to be concentrated on the residential side, not at the polling station,” Hunt added.

At least one of the victims was headed to the polling station to vote, a law enforcement source told The Times.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Ron Singleton said two people were airlifted to an area hospital. The third victim, a man in his 70s, was dead at the scene, he said.

The shooting began about 2 p.m. after a report of gunfire in the 300 block of North Orange Avenue, Hunt said.

Officers arrived to find multiple shooting victims and a suspect with a rifle, he said.

The suspect was armed with an assault rifle with “a rapid-fire capability,” Hunt said. Police don’t know whether the rifle is fully or semiautomatic.

The shooter immediately fired at least 20 shots at police, the source said.

Under a hail of gunfire, officers took cover and returned shots at the assailant, who retreated into a home in the 500 block of Fourth Street, said the source, who requested anonymity because the case was ongoing. No officers were injured in the shooting.


Live updates: Multiple people shot near Azusa polling station; 1 dead

“After the initial exchange of gunfire, there were victims down at the scene,” Hunt said. “We had to extract them from the scene.”

Officers had the shooter surrounded, and were evacuating the area, the source said.

“This is a very volatile and critical situation,” Azusa Officer Jerry Willison said.

Roberto Chavez, 67, and his wife were sitting outside on their porch when they saw a heavily armed man fire at least 10 rounds at a group of people.

Police quickly responded, Chavez said. About 20 officers swarmed into the neighborhood in the 600 block of West Fourth Street, he said.



The gunman, who wore a white shirt and black pants, ran into a home about three doors down from Chavez’s house, he said.
Chavez said he recognized the man as someone who frequently visits and hangs out at his neighbor’s home. He didn’t know the man’s name. He said some of the victims appeared to be neighbors in the area.

Police told him to remain indoors because the gunman had barricaded himself inside a home.

“It’s a very dangerous situation,” he said.

Fabiola Moreno, 47, had just finished making a sandwich for her 5-year-old granddaughter and was walking to the living room where her granddaughter was watching television when she heard three gunshots.

“I thought it was just fireworks,” Moreno said, “But then I thought about it and it really sounded more like gunshots.”

Moreno walked outside and saw a man dressed in a white T-shirt with a black vest and black pants. He was armed and was walking away from the parking lot of Memorial Park.

She said the man stopped to reload his weapon and noticed her.

“I just ran inside,” she said. “I secured the door, grabbed my granddaughter and ran into the bathroom, and we locked ourselves there.”

She said that from inside, she heard police sirens and more gunshots.

“I don’t know if he shot at the police or they shot at him, but it was several gunshots,” Moreno said. “I was afraid a bullet would come through the walls of the house.”

Moreno spoke to The Times by phone while locked in the room.

Police said there appears to be someone “down” inside a house but did not provide further details.

Azusa Unified School District issued a lockdown for Slauson Middle and Mountain View Elementary schools about 2:15 p.m., officials said. A nearby daycare center and preschool was also locked down.

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said the shooting affected two polling stations.

He urged voters to avoid the area and “if necessary, cast a ballot at an alternate polling location.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...108-story.html

. . . After a standoff at a home that lasted several hours, police announced that the alleged gunman was found dead in the residence. Officials said they didn’t know whether the man — who was described as heavily armed — was killed by police or from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities said they did not believe the shooting was related to the polling place but did not reveal a motive.
“We don’t know what the motive is and why this person starting shooting,” said Homicide Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. . .

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...108-story.html

Gunman armed with assault rifle was on cocaine binge during deadly Azusa rampage, police say


Richard Winton and Veronica Rocha Contact Reporter


Investigators worked through the night to piece together a portrait of a “gun fanatic” who armed himself with an assault rifle and unleashed a cocaine-fueled rampage Tuesday in an Azusa neighborhood, killing one man and critically wounding two women before being killed by police.

Residents in the quiet San Gabriel Valley neighborhood waited for hours to return to their homes and reunite with the families as investigators swarmed the area “to understand what happened,” Azusa police said.

Although the motive for the shooting remained under investigation, authorities said the gunman had been on a cocaine binge when he launched his attack.

On Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said investigators were still working to identify the 45-year-old gunman and notify his family.

They had identified the deceased victim as Francis Varney, 77, of Azusa. The condition of the two wounded women, 59 and 65, remained unchanged. One woman was shot in the face, the other victim was struck by gunfire on her body, authorities said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. John Corina said investigators were still trying to learn more about the assailant, whose cocaine binged prompted his wife and two children to leave their family’s home Monday evening.

The man was employed at a public works division in an unspecified Orange County city and was previously in the U.S. military, Corina said.

He collected guns and had at least four weapons, including handguns, a shotgun and a rifle, officials said. He had lived in the Azusa home for about five months.

“He is kind of a gun fanatic,” Corina said. “He came out in the street and, according to people, he started shooting randomly at people.”

Armed himself with handguns, a rifle and shotgun, the man walked outside of his home and began shooting at cars.

Clad in black combat gear, he shot at a woman driving a van, causing her to crash into cars, authorities said.

The gunman fatally shot Varney when he walked out of his home to see the commotion, Corina said. He then shot at another woman making her way down the street.

As police officers from Azusa and Irwindale pulled into the neighborhood, they were met with hail of gunfire from an assault rifle with “a rapid-fire capability,” acting Azusa Police Chief Steve Hunt said.

A gun battle erupted as officers attempted to tend to the wounded victims. Authorities were forced to secure the neighborhood and shut down nearby polling places — sending voters scrambling to find alternate locations as police confronted the assailant

The shooter fired at least 20 rounds at police.

Officers took cover and returned shots at the assailant, who retreated into a home in the 500 block of Fourth Street. No officers were injured.

“I heard this ‘boom boom’ like a rifle or shotgun, and then I heard ‘pop pop’ back, then boom boom again," said neighbor Hector Serrano, 21. “I came outside and [police] were throwing gas at the house.”

An hours-long standoff ended Tuesday evening after police shot and killed the gunman.

Sheriff’s officials used a robot with a camera to confirm the gunman was dead. His body was found in a home’s entryway.

Inside the man’s home, investigators found hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and family members told authorities he would occasionally binge on cocaine, Corina said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...109-story.html