PHOTO: Two dead in East Hollywood shooting and house fire (KTLA-TV) |
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KTLA) -- Police have identified the gunman in a deadly shooting rampage and subsequent fire at a home in East Hollywood.
Authorities say 56-year-old Mario Hernandez was the ex-boyfriend of one of the women who lived in the home.
Hernandez barged into the home in the 500 block of North Harvard Boulevard shortly before 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Police say he shot four people, including his ex-girlfriend, before setting the house on fire and turning the gun on himself.
Three shooting victims were rescued from the nearly 100-year-old house, which was engulfed by a fast-moving fire.
34-year-old Brad Guererro and two 38-year-old women, Laurel Choy and Shaunna Heth, were pulled from the front entry area of the house.
Newlyweds Laurel and Daniel Choy shared the house with three other people. Daniel was not home at the time of the shooting.
Laurel was shot four times in the chest and once in hand.
She is now listed in stable condition at County USC Medical Center.
Heth, who is Hernandez's ex-girlfriend, was also wounded. She remains in the hospital.
Guerrero's family said he was shot in the head and needed surgery.
"The bullet didn't penetrate his brain," his brother said. "It did fracture his skull though. Doctors say he is going to survive this."
After the three victims were extracted, the fire was allowed to burn itself out.
Authorities determined the flames were too big and too hot for anyone else to have survived.
The fire was extinguished after about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Hernandez and an unidentified male victim were found dead inside the burned-out house.
One neighbor said she saw a young man with a ponytail, dressed in black, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and carrying a duffel bag.
He banged on the door of the house and then went inside, she said. She heard gunshots shortly after.
The fire and shooting prompted the evacuation of Harvard Elementary School as well several nearby homes.
There were no reported injuries to LAFD or LAPD personnel.
A donation fund has been set up to help the victims of the shooting.
You can help them by visiting the donation pages for Brad and Shaunna and Dan and Laurel.
Authorities say 56-year-old Mario Hernandez was the ex-boyfriend of one of the women who lived in the home.
Hernandez barged into the home in the 500 block of North Harvard Boulevard shortly before 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Police say he shot four people, including his ex-girlfriend, before setting the house on fire and turning the gun on himself.
Three shooting victims were rescued from the nearly 100-year-old house, which was engulfed by a fast-moving fire.
34-year-old Brad Guererro and two 38-year-old women, Laurel Choy and Shaunna Heth, were pulled from the front entry area of the house.
Newlyweds Laurel and Daniel Choy shared the house with three other people. Daniel was not home at the time of the shooting.
Laurel was shot four times in the chest and once in hand.
She is now listed in stable condition at County USC Medical Center.
Heth, who is Hernandez's ex-girlfriend, was also wounded. She remains in the hospital.
Guerrero's family said he was shot in the head and needed surgery.
"The bullet didn't penetrate his brain," his brother said. "It did fracture his skull though. Doctors say he is going to survive this."
After the three victims were extracted, the fire was allowed to burn itself out.
Authorities determined the flames were too big and too hot for anyone else to have survived.
The fire was extinguished after about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Hernandez and an unidentified male victim were found dead inside the burned-out house.
One neighbor said she saw a young man with a ponytail, dressed in black, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and carrying a duffel bag.
He banged on the door of the house and then went inside, she said. She heard gunshots shortly after.
The fire and shooting prompted the evacuation of Harvard Elementary School as well several nearby homes.
There were no reported injuries to LAFD or LAPD personnel.
A donation fund has been set up to help the victims of the shooting.
You can help them by visiting the donation pages for Brad and Shaunna and Dan and Laurel.
