Shop Owner Arrested in Teen’s Slaying
Police arrested a 51-year-old shop owner Thursday after he fired into a car filled with teenagers, killing a 17-year-old girl whose companions he believed had shoplifted beer from his store, detectives said.
Jo Won Kim fired his .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol into the car at about 9:30 a.m. outside his market on North Avenue 56 in Highland Park, LAPD Detective John Berdin said. The five teenagers in the car drove to a nearby fire station, where an ambulance rushed the critically injured girl and a 17-year-old boy to Huntington Memorial Hospital. Police said the boy’s wounds did not appear to be life-threatening.
Kim told detectives he thought the youths had stolen several bottles of beer from his market, but investigators determined that the girl never entered the store, Berdin said. Police arrested Kim on suspicion of attempted murder, and after the girl died later Thursday booked Kim on suspicion of murder. He was being held without bail.
The girl’s identity was withheld pending notification of relatives.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
