Mission Hills Man, 24, Arrested in Shooting

Asuspected gang member was arrested on charges he shot and critically wounded a UCLA premed student outside a Pacoima convenience store where he and friends had stopped for gas and snacks, Los Angeles police said Tuesday.

Albert Muro, 24, of Mission Hills was arrested at 10 p.m. Monday after San Fernando police who had stopped him for a traffic violation realized that he was wanted by Los Angeles police for the shooting of 18-year-old Ricardo Olivares.

Olivares was shot at 12:45 a.m. Saturday, after he stopped with several friends at a store at Laurel Canyon and Brand boulevards. Police said Olivares walked to a nearby pay phone to make a call when he was confronted by two suspected gang members and shot in the head during a struggle. Police said the victim and his friends are not gang members and had done nothing to provoke the attack.

“It was just routine gang motivation” for the shooting, Los Angeles Police Detective Al Ferrand said. “The victim and his friends were just normal kids and weren’t doing anything when they were confronted.”

Olivares remained in critical condition Tuesday at UCLA Medical Center.

Ferrand said Muro was identified as a suspect through anonymous calls to police and other undisclosed evidence. He was being held without bail on suspicion of attempted murder at the Foothill Station Jail. A second suspect is being sought by police.