Detectives search for motive after rampage kills 4
LOS ANGELES — One day after a shooting rampage in the San Fernando Valley left four dead and three injured, authorities are trying to sort out what prompted the string of violence.
Los Angeles police say Gerry Dean Zaragoza, 26, first shot his father, mother and brother at their home in Canoga Park in the middle of the night, then shot a woman he reportedly knew a few miles away. After that, the rampage appears to have turned random, authorities said.
“He didn’t even talk to his last victim,” said police Capt. Billy Hayes. “It doesn’t look like there was any interaction between them.”
Deputy Chief Kris Pitcher, who oversees detectives, said authorities have not identified a motive in the shootings.
Authorities say Zaragoza attacked his family inside their apartment. His 50yearold father, Carlos, and 20yearold brother, Carlos Pierre, were fatally shot. His mother suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to a hospital in stable condition, police said.
After leaving his family’s home, police say Zaragoza opened fire outside a gas station in North Hollywood. When police arrived, they found a man and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds. The woman, Azucena Lepe, died at a hospital. The man was in critical condition.
A family member told KCBSTV that Zaragoza once dated Lepe and that he became obsessed with her after she broke off the relationship.
Police say a person matching Zaragoza’s description then tried to rob a man outside a bank in Canoga Park.
Later, authorities say Zaragoza opened fire inside a bus in Van Nuys, killing a man. The attack may have been random, police say.
Officers then spotted Zaragoza walking in Canoga Park and used a Taser to subdue him.