Local News in Brief : Waste Inspector Slain

A senior waste inspector for the Bureau of Sanitation was fatally shot as he left a city laboratory where he had dropped off some waste water samples Monday afternoon, police reported.

Before he died of an abdominal wound at County-USC Medical Center, Awni Said Rayyis, 59, was able to provide a fellow worker a license number of the getaway car, investigators said.

“An officer spotted the suspect’s car two blocks away but it turned out to have been stolen,” said Detective Dave Rico. “This leaves us without any good leads and we haven’t determined the exact motive but it could have been a robbery or attempted robbery.”

“From what we have right now, it does not seem like it’s connected with his job or his background or anything like that,” added Detective Roy Gobel.

Fellow employees at the Elysian Valley laboratory suggested that the shooting may have been a reprisal for action the inspector had taken against a company violating hazardous waste laws. Chuck Peterson, a chemistry lab supervisor, said employees were upset by the shooting and were taking precautions to protect themselves.

Witnesses told police they saw Rayyis talking with someone described only as “a man wearing a hat” and then heard a gunshot.