Los Angeles, California – Police caught two men they think are part of a gang and are looking for another person who might be involved in several shootings that happened one after the other in Los Angeles County. These shootings seemed to be random and took many lives.
“It appears this was a random murder spree, however, homicide investigators have not ruled anything out,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau Capt. Andrew Meyer said during a news conference Tuesday.
Captain Andrew Meyer of the LA County Sheriff’s Department shared this information in a press briefing on Tuesday. He explained that 42-year-old Gary Garcia and 20-year-old Wayne McNeely Timberland were arrested for murder, trying to murder, and planning to murder someone. There might be a third person, maybe a teenager, involved in these crimes.
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The first attack took place near the Martha Escutia Primary Center in Bell on Sunday, Feb. 11, at about 10:30 p.m. When the police got there, they found 24-year-old Kevin Parada, a married dad who lived close by, dead from a bullet. Another man was there too but wasn’t hurt.
Kevin Parada was killed by someone shooting from a car. He had a young son who is now without a father.
A man named Brian, who was there during the shooting and wasn’t hurt, talked to FOX 11. He chose not to share his last name because he’s scared there might be another shooter still free.
“I’m mixed in between emotions of feeling like I’m glad be alive, but still saddened,” Brian said.
Brian shared that late on Sunday night, he and his buddy were outside their place having a smoke when a dark red SUV pulled up close to them. Brian thought the people in the SUV might know his friend because they stopped and asked, “Where are you from?” Then, he saw one of them pull out a gun and point it at his friend. Brian tried to calm the situation, saying his friend was okay, but then heard a gunshot.
Brian saw his friend, Parada, hit the ground after being shot. Then, the gunman aimed at Brian, who said he was okay, tried to dodge, and luckily, the shooter missed him with their second shot.
Not long after, another shooting occurred just after midnight in a shopping center parking lot in the Florence-Firestone area, leaving one man dead from gunshot wounds.
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About 12 minutes after that, there was yet another shooting outside the Ellen Ochoa Learning Center in Cudahy. Two teenagers were shot; one died right there, and the other was hospitalized and is now stable. The 14-year-old victim was identified by family and friends as Javier Pedraza Jr. He and his friend were just talking when someone drove up and shot them.
Then, around 1:55 a.m., a Huntington Park Police officer found a man shot dead on the curb while driving on Santa Fe Ave. It’s believed the victim was a homeless man living in a nearby camp.
The police figured out that a Honda Pilot was seen on video at all four crime scenes. Captain Meyer said these shootings seem to be linked, but the reason behind them is still a mystery.
San Bernardino County deputies saw the car they were looking for and stopped it. The person driving was arrested and charged with murder. Later, a second person involved was caught in Compton by a special team from the sheriff’s office.
Captain Meyer mentioned they haven’t found any weapons yet. He thinks the people they arrested are part of a gang, but it’s not clear why they did these shootings. It seems like they just chose people at random to attack.
Both of the accused, Garcia and Timberland, are being held until their court date this week, each with a $2 million bail. Meyer shared that Garcia has a long record of crimes, but Timberland hasn’t been in trouble with the law before.
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The families of the victims, Parada and Pedraza Jr., are collecting money to help pay for their funerals.
Since some shootings happened near schools, there will be more police around those areas now.
The LA County Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone who knows something about these crimes to get in touch.
