Spate of Violence Leaves 6 Dead, 8 Hurt

Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a man who they said threatened them with a knife and scissors, one in a spate of violent incidents over the Memorial Day weekend in which at least 12 others were shot, four fatally, and another man was beaten to death, detectives said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Gage said deputies responding to an unrelated missing person’s report in the 3300 block of Virginia Street in Lynwood about 11:30 p.m. Sunday were told by an 8-year-old boy that his father had been stabbed by a knife-wielding man.

The deputies encountered the suspect, who was brandishing two large knives and carrying a pair of scissors, Gage said.

“Without warning, the suspect charged at one of the deputies,” Gage said. “They tried to stop him with a Taser gun, but it had no effect. He continued to charge.”

Gage said four officers opened fire.

The suspect died at the scene, detectives said. They said the man whom he stabbed was treated for a cut and released. They said the suspect’s brother, who tried to intercede during the confrontation and was shot in the leg, was hospitalized in stable condition.

The identities of those involved were withheld pending further investigation.

In Cudahy, one man was killed and another critically wounded in a shooting in the 4300 block of Elizabeth Street about 7:20 p.m. Monday. No further details were available.

In the Hyde Park area of Los Angeles, two men were shot during a drive-by attack early Monday as they tried to get into a car that a relative of one of them had left with the keys locked inside, Los Angeles police said.

Investigators said one victim, 29, was hospitalized in critical condition and the other, 44, was admitted in stable condition after the attack at 60th Street and 10th Avenue about 1:40 a.m. Their names were not released.

Detectives said four or five young men were in the car from which the shots came. A motive was not immediately determined.

Also on Monday, a man in his early 20s parked in front of his house in the 800 block of East 116th Street was fatally shot by two men who approached on foot. Police suspect the incident was gang-related.

In South Los Angeles, a man was shot twice and a woman once as they walked past a post office at Florence and Central avenues about 9:50 p.m. Sunday, Los Angeles police said.

Investigators said the shots were fired from a car after a passenger shouted a gang name. The victims, whose names were not released, apparently had no gang ties, officers said. Police said the man was shot in the leg and the torso and the woman was hit in the leg.

A man shot to death in Inglewood before dawn Sunday was identified by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office Monday as Devonte Barner, 26, of Inglewood. Barner’s body was found in the 9800 block of Crenshaw Boulevard. Police said the shooting may have been gang-related.

In two other shootings near downtown Los Angeles early Sunday, a 17-year-old was shot in the back by unknown assailants in a dark-colored vehicle and a man in his 20s was wounded in the leg by gunfire outside a party.

On Saturday, a man whose identity was not released was found fatally shot in Lancaster in the 45000 block of Raysack Avenue.

Meanwhile Monday, police were searching for an apparently stolen car after its owner was found beaten to death in Little Tokyo. Detectives said the body of Hermandilgo Martinez was found in the 200 block of North Santa Fe Avenue about 8 a.m. Sunday. His gray 1986 Chevrolet Camaro was missing, officers said.

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Times wire services contributed to this report.