Violent Night: Arrests Made In Random Shooting Spree That Killed 4

LOS ANGELES, CA — Two people are in custody in connection with a spate of four shooting deaths spanning three hours across four Los Angeles County cities, authorities announced Tuesday. Police are looking for a third suspect in the killing spree.

"It appears this was a random murder spree, however, homicide investigators have not ruled anything out," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau Capt. Andrew Meyer told reporters during an afternoon news conference.

Between 11:30 p.m. Sunday and 2:30 a.m. Monday, homicide detectives spanned out across Bell, Huntington Park, Cudahy and Los Angeles in response to a trail of bodies. All four shooting victims were men, and two of the victims were killed outside schools. Students and families in Bell and Cudahy arrived in time for the Monday morning bell to find homicide investigations underway.

The deadly night triggered widespread alarm in the community.

The first suspect was identified as 42-year-old Gary Garcia, who was being held in lieu of $8 million bail, according to jail records.

All the shootings occurred within miles of one another.

According to the sheriff's department, the first shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. Sunday in the 6000 block of Bear Avenue in Bell. That shooting killed 24-year-old Kevin Parada.

Shortly after midnight Monday morning, another fatal shooting occurred in the 1500 block of East Florence Avenue in the nearby Florence-Firestone. That victim, described only as a man, was not immediately identified.

A short time later, two boys were shot in the 5000 block of Live Oak Street near Ellen Ochoa Learning Center. One of them, 14-year-old Javier Pedraza Jr. of Cudahy, was pronounced dead at the scene. The second boy was taken to a hospital in what was described as stable condition.

The fourth shooting occurred about 2:40 a.m. in the 6300 block of Santa Fe Avenue in Huntington Park, officials said. That man, also Hispanic, was not immediately identified, but Huntington Park police Chief Cosme Lozano said he was known to be a local homeless man who was "simply walking down the street."

The timing and proximity of the shootings prompted law enforcement to investigate if the shootings were related.

According to Meyer, sheriff's homicide investigators responded to all four shooting scenes, and surveillance video quickly determined that a Honda Pilot SUV was scene at each of the location in the same general time as the shootings.

Sheriff's officials circulated a law enforcement bulletin, and on Monday afternoon, the vehicle was spotted and stopped by San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies, and one of the suspects -- believed to be Garcia -- was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder, Meyer said.

Investigators were then able to identify a second suspect, who was arrested by a sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau team late Monday night or early Tuesday morning in Compton, according to Meyer.

Meyer said that so far, no weapon has been recovered. He said investigators believe the suspects are gang members, but there was no immediate word on a motive for the killings. He said the attacks just appeared to target "random people."

As the investigations were continuing on Monday, county Supervisor Janice Hahn took to social media, saying, "These recent shootings are very troubling to me and the residents of these cities. I have been in contact with the cities of Bell, Cudahy and Huntington Park and offered any assistance we can provide."

Hahn also noted the proximity of two of the shootings to schools. The first shooting in Bell occurred in the vicinity of Martha Escutia Primary Center, an elementary school. Less than an hour later, the second shooting happened on Live Oak Street in Cudahy, outside Ellen Ochoa Learning Center.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho wrote: "Overnight murderous fun violence victimizes the youth of our community. As we learn more about the shootings that claimed the life of one teenager and injured another, we stand ready to support the impacted school communities."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.