Tragedy struck a family on Oct. 11 after new details emerged surrounding a shooting that police describe as an attempted murder-suicide in Los Angeles’ Pico-Union neighborhood that left two young brothers dead.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers responded to reports of a shooting near the intersection of Catalina Street and Venice Boulevard at 12:49 p.m.
When officers arrived, they found three people suffering from gunshot wounds: a 4-year-old boy, his 11-year-old brother, and the suspected gunman, only identified as the children’s 35-year-old father.
All three were rushed to a nearby hospital, an LAPD spokesperson said.
Authorities confirmed that both boys died from their injuries. Their father, who police said turned the gun on himself, survived and remains hospitalized in police custody.
“This appears to be a possible attempted murder-suicide,” an LAPD spokesperson said while giving a statement. “There is no threat to the community at this time.”
To make matters worse, there were several witnesses to the crime as an L.A. Metro bus was passing by right before the shooting. A woman riding the bus yelled to the bus driver to stop the vehicle right before the shooting happened, according to KTLA’s Hailey Winslow. The shooting occurred near Loyola High School.
In a statement to KTLA, Metro confirmed that investigators had requested video footage from a bus traveling through the area at the time of the shooting.
“Police investigating a shooting in the Pico-Union area have requested video footage from a Metro bus, which was passing through the area at the time and may have captured the incident. The Los Angeles Police Department is leading the investigation.”
Details surrounding the deadly shooting remain limited, though footage posted to the Citizen app showed a large police presence and at least two Los Angeles Fire Department ambulances at the scene.
Officers cordoned off much of the surrounding area as investigators worked to determine the circumstances leading up to the violence.
