Police Kill Man After 3 Are Slain in Valley

A 30-year-old Pacoima man shot three men to death at two separate homes in his East San Fernando Valley community late Friday afternoon before he was killed by Los Angeles police officers when he pointed a gun at them, police said.

Police refused to identify the suspect and the three victims or discuss the motive for the attack.

Police said they did not believe the sale of drugs was involved in the attacks. They said it appeared the suspect knew at least two of the victims.

According to police and Fire Department paramedics, the shootings began shortly before 5 p.m. when the gunman, armed with a .44 magnum pistol, opened fire in a one-room home located in the 13900 block of Van Nuys Boulevard.

Two men, described as in their mid-20s, were fatally shot, each in the head and chest.

A few minutes later, about 10 blocks away, a 27-year-old man was washing a car beside a house in the 9800 block of Rincon Avenue when the suspect approached and shot him in the chest and face.

The victim’s mother and brother, who were in the home, rushed to the yard and found him dead.

Police said the second attack was witnessed by Officer Bob Saurman, a Foothill Division detective who was off duty. Lt. William Hall said Saurman recognized the suspect from a previous police encounter but would not elaborate.

Police said Saurman went to the Foothill station to get help to arrest the suspect.

Shortly after 5:30 p.m. three police officers arrived at a home in the 11200 block of El Dorado Avenue, believed to be the gunman’s residence. Finding that he was not home, the officers began cruising the area looking for him.

At 5:42 p.m. the suspect was seen walking in an alley off the 13800 block of Paxton Street, nearly 20 blocks from the scene of the second shooting.

“The suspect pointed the gun at the officers and all three officers opened fire,” Hall said.

Hall said it was unclear whether the suspect actually fired at the officers.

Although the gunman was hit several times by police bullets and fell to the ground, officers thought he was still alive and handcuffed him face down in the alley. By the time paramedics arrived a few minutes later, he was dead, police said.

The suspect’s body remained in the alley until late Friday night as police attempted to piece together the shooting rampage.

The suspected gunman’s car, a late model gray Cadillac, was found parked near the home where the third murder had taken place, police said.

Police described the suspect as a former street gang member but said they did not believe the shootings were related to gang rivalry. One man, Jessie Dominguez of Arleta, who said he had been a friend of the suspect, said the man was never a gang member but had been a member of a car club.

“It is hard to believe that he started shooting,” Dominguez said.

Times staff writers Michael Connelly and Tracey Kaplan and photographer Carlos Chavez contributed to this report.