The Latest: Valley shootings suspect tied to robbery
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on a search for a suspect in two Los Angeles shooting incidents (all times local):
9:48 a.m.
Los Angeles police say a man tried to rob someone outside a bank in the San Fernando Valley after allegedly shooting five people, three of them fatally, at his family’s apartment and a gas station.
Police had initially said Gerry Dean Zarragoza tried to commit a robbery Thursday morning at a Bank of America branch in Canoga Park but they did not know if it was inside or outside the bank.
Authorities say they have not received any reports of injuries and no property was taken in that incident. It was not clear if the victim was a customer or bank employee.
Police say Zarragoza allegedly shot three family members, killing two, in a Canoga Park apartment before shooting a man and a woman at a gas station in North Hollywood. The woman, believed to be an acquaintance, died and the man is in critical condition.
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9:27 a.m.
Los Angeles police say a third person has died after two shootings in the San Fernando Valley where the gunman may have gone on to try and rob a bank.
Authorities say Gerry Dean Zarragoza is considered armed and dangerous and may be driving a Jeep Liberty with paper license plates. The shootings early Thursday morning are not considered random.
Police say Zarragoza fatally shot two members of his family and wounded a third at an apartment complex in the Canoga Park area of the valley.
He then allegedly shot a woman, believed to be an acquaintance, and a man at a gas station in North Hollywood.
Police say the woman was pronounced dead at the hospital and the man is in critical condition.
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8:10 a.m.
Los Angeles police say a young man suspected of shooting two family members to death and wounding a third has been linked to the shootings of two other acquaintances a short time later.
Police spokesman Josh Rubenstein says Gerry Dean Zarragoza is considered armed and dangerous but there’s no reason for the public to believe the shootings early Thursday were random.
The first shooting occurred around 2 a.m. at an apartment complex in the Canoga Park area of the San Fernando Valley.
A man in his 50s and another in his 20s were pronounced dead at the scene. A woman was hospitalized in stable condition.
The second shooting occurred around 2:45 a.m. at a gas station in North Hollywood.
Rubenstein says a man and woman were taken to hospitals in critical condition. Their relationship to the suspect is under investigation.
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7:07 a.m.
Los Angeles police are looking for a young man suspected of shooting two family members and wounding a third.
The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. Thursday at an apartment complex in the Canoga Park area of the San Fernando Valley.
A man in his 50s and another in his 20s were pronounced dead at the scene. A woman was hospitalized in stable condition.
Police Capt. Alfonso Mendoza says the suspect is considered armed and dangerous.
