An Inglewood man is jailed on suspicion of murder and attempted murders today in connection with a series of shootings in the Palms district of West Los Angeles, which left one man killed and four other men wounded.
The suspect was identified as James Pickens, 37. He was booked for suspicion of murder at 11:46 p.m. Friday and was held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
But the motive for the Thursday shootings near Cheviot Hills was not made public, nor was a narrative of exactly what happened.
“The case will be presented to the District Attorney on Tuesday for filing consideration,” according to the department.
The gunfire was first reported just before 3 p.m. Thursday, when two men were shot at Woodbine Park, at Woodbine Street and Vinton Avenue police said. That’s near Overland Avenue at the Santa Monica (10) Freeway.
The man who was pronounced dead at the park was later identified as Justin Aguilar, 27, whose hometown was not known. The other victim was taken to a hospital in unknown condition.
Moments after the park shooting, another man was shot and critically wounded at the intersection of Motor and Vinton avenues. Then, two other men were shot at the intersection of Overland Avenue and National Boulevard, Richter said. Two of the three non-critical victims were released after hospital treatment, police said.
Police went on tactical alert about 3:30 p.m. Thursday to allow for deployment of resources as needed. The tactical alert, which allows officers to be kept on the job beyond the end of their shifts, was canceled about 7 p.m. Thursday, police said.
Palms Middle School and Palms Elementary School were placed on temporary lockdown due to the shooting, according to Los Angeles school police.
It was unclear what prompted the gunfire or if it was gang-related.
West Bureau homicide detectives asked anyone with any information regarding the shootings to give them a call at (213) 382-9470.
