Music Teacher Kills Himself Before Marshals Can Arrest Him on Molestation Charges

A well-known music teacher from England killed himself in Sherman Oaks this morning as the U.S. Marshal Service was closing in to arrest him on molestation charges, authorities said.

Christopher Howard Ling, who was considered a fugitive, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at approximately 6:00 a.m. at his residence on Dixie Canyon Place, U.S. Marshal Spokeswoman Laura Vega said in a written release. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputy U.S. marshals found him while attempting to serve a provisional arrest warrant on multiple counts of indecent assault on a minor in the United Kingdom.

Ling was a violin teacher who had recently started his own company in Sherman Oaks. The Los Angeles Police Department has taken over the investigation of the shooting.

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