Two dead in separate shootings at Halloween parties in Southern California
Two men were shot to death at separate parties in the early hours of Saturday morning, California authorities said.
In the Santa Barbara County town of Santa Maria, a 20-year-old man was killed and other people were shot and transported to local hospitals after a fight broke out at a large backyard party just after midnight.
Santa Maria police officials declined to reveal how many people were shot and transported to hospitals, saying it was “an active and ongoing investigation, so limited details are currently being released.” Numerous witnesses, officials said, “still need to be identified and interviewed.” Police said all the injured victims were expected to survive.
By the time he sidled up to a patrol car and shot two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies at point-blank range, Deonte Lee Murray was in the midst of a crime rampage.
In Palmdale, another man was shot at a party early Saturday morning. Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said they were called to the 37000 block of 55th Street East to investigate a shooting death. According to City News Service, the shooting took place at a Halloween party.
The Santa Maria incident marked the second weekend in a row a shooting has occurred at a Halloween party there. According to the Santa Maria Times, police Friday arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with a shooting at a party Oct. 14 in which two men and one woman were injured.
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