Los Angeles, Ca
2 Southern California hospitals, 1 college experience violence threats in 3 days: What we know
A pair of hospitals and a college were recipients of threats of violence on back-to-back-to-back days this week in Southern California.
Now, officials are investigating all three incidents and are being extra vigilant in case more cases like the three that took place over the last three days are reported.
Wednesday: Loma Linda Children’s Hospital
The first incident occurred on Wednesday evening at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital.
In this case, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department stated that they had been made aware of reports of a “possibl[y] armed individual” around 6:35 p.m.
Shortly after, a hospital official confirmed that authorities were responding to the scene as part of an “active investigation” that involved hundreds of law enforcement officers.
Video footage from Sky5 showed a very large police presence outside the hospital as dozens of police cruisers, armed vehicles and heavily armed officers wearing tactical gear responded to the scene.
Authorities warned the public to avoid the area while the investigation on the hospital campus was active, and potential patients were encouraged to visit other local medical centers.
The scene was cleared by around 9 p.m.
In the wake of the threat, the sheriff’s department took to social media to declare that no shots were heard and no injuries reported.
They later stated that the initial reports of an active shooter stemmed from a “swatting call,” which is a dangerous, illegal prank in which a caller claims there is a life-threatening emergency at a specific location, eliciting a massive police response.
Authorities confirmed that they are already pursuing a lead on the possible source of the hoax.
Thursday: Claremont McKenna College
Less than 24 hours after the Loma Linda incident, students and faculty at Claremont McKenna College were forced to shelter in place while police responded to reports of a possible shooter on campus.
The university’s student-run newspaper, The Student Life, reported that campus safety officials notified the school community just before 5 p.m., saying there was police activity and a potential shooter. The shelter in place warning followed shortly afterwards.
“The caller told dispatch that they were in a restroom at Claremont McKenna College Campus, holding someone captive and threatening to harm them,” officials with the Claremont Police Department said in a news release. “They also stated that they had a bomb and we’re going to walk around with a rifle and shoot anyone they saw on the campus.”
Sky5 footage showed that a SWAT Team responded to the area along with dozens of officers from different departments, including the Claremont, La Verne, Ontario and Upland police departments. Students were seen being escorted out of at least one campus building with their hands on their heads.
Thursday evening classes were canceled due to the incident. Classes resumed on Friday morning, according to The Student Life.
An all clear was given and the shelter-in-place order was lifted two hours after the threat was first received. No person with a weapon or victims were located.
Further investigation into the incident led authorities to determine that it was a “swatting” call that required the deployment of “extensive resources,” but no further information was immediately released.
KTLA has put in a request for comment with the Claremont Police Department for more details on the case.
Friday: Huntington Hospital
This week’s third incident occurred at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena on Friday.
A spokesperson for the City of Pasadena told KTLA that a 33-year-old man called in a threat of a “violent attack” to the hospital around 2 p.m., which caused it to go into lockdown.
The man had been admitted to the medical center earlier in the day, officials stated.
Hospital employees received a text alerting them of a “Code Silver” threat, which indicates a possible active shooter or hostage situation. Incoming ambulances were redirected to other nearby hospitals and both patients and visitors were not permitted to enter the hospital during the lockdown, which lasted for hours and affected the emergency room.
Multiple police squad cars were seen outside the hospital as officers began investigating.
Authorities quickly launched a probe into the incident and determined it was not a “swatting” call but was a legitimate threat.
The man was later taken into custody by police in Los Angeles, officials said. Media reports identified him as Jose Jurado.
On Saturday, a Pasadena city official told KTLA that they could “confidently” say that the two incidents in Loma Linda and Claremont are not believed to be related to this one.
The Department of Homeland Security has released guidelines that detail what a “swatting” call is, what to do if a threat is received and steps to take after an incident. Click here to view them.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
Los Angeles, Ca
Hospital needs help identifying man found unconscious in downtown Los Angeles
A hospital needs help identifying a male patient who was found injured and unconscious in downtown Los Angeles.
The man is believed to be in his 30s, according to the Los Angeles General Medical Center.
He was found injured on the ground on Omar Street and has been hospitalized since June 22.
He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 176 pounds. He has brown eyes, dark brown hair and tattoos across his upper body.
He did not have any personal belongings to help staff identify him or contact loved ones. Workers did not disclose the nature of his injuries.
Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6885.
The public can also call the L.A. General Medical Center’s Department of Social Work at 323-409-5253 or, after hours from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., call 323-409-6883. On weekends, call 323-409-5254.
Los Angeles, Ca
Clue may identify SUV in Long Beach hit-and-run that left woman injured
Police are asking the public for help Wednesday in identifying a hit-and-run driver who left a woman badly injured in Long Beach late last month. The May 24 crash occurred around 11 p.m. as the victim was crossing East 2nd Street, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Video provided by police showed a dark-colored […]
Los Angeles, Ca
‘What’s going on with our society?’ Elderly L.A. street vendor violently beaten
WARNING: Video footage contains graphic violence
A 62-year-old street vendor is recovering after a brutally violent attack by another woman in broad daylight as bystanders in downtown Los Angeles looked on.
The attack happened around 4 p.m. on June 15 in the 700 block of Figueroa Street, where Arabelia Martinez has sold hot dogs for years to support herself and her family.
Video of the incident, which has since circulated widely online, appears to show a woman confronting Martinez at her stand before spraying sauce across the vendor’s cart. Martinez responds by throwing what appears to be Tajín seasoning in the woman’s direction, and the confrontation quickly escalates.
The difficult-to-watch footage shows Martinez being shoved to the ground and struck multiple times as people look on. Some can be seen attempting to intervene, but the assault continues for roughly a minute before coming to an end.
“I was speechless,” Martinez’s son, Constantino Garcia, said after watching the video. “I couldn’t even see the whole thing.”
According to Garcia, the suspect approached his mother before the attack and attempted to intimidate her into giving her money.
“The lady came up to my mom trying to intimidate her and extort her for money, telling her she needed a permit to sell, which my mom does have,” Garcia told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.
When Martinez refused, Garcia claims the woman became verbally abusive.
“After she didn’t get her way and tried to extort my mom, she said, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and made some racist remarks,” he said. “She said some disgusting things to my mom.”
Garcia said his mother continues to suffer lingering effects from the attack.
“She keeps complaining about her head,” he said. “We need to go see a head specialist because her head doesn’t stop hurting. As you could see in the video, she got slammed to the ground.”
The video has also sparked outrage over the response from some witnesses who were nearby during the assault.
“What’s going on with our society?” Garcia said. “Are we getting desensitized to an elderly woman being beaten in broad daylight and being surrounded by people doing the bare minimum to help her? That was horrible for me to watch.”
Witness Sebastian Gutierrez said he arrived moments after the confrontation and saw Garcia’s attacker causing additional chaos in the area.
“The lady began to flip over the tables of vendors,” Gutierrez said, describing the woman as possibly unstable. “It definitely seemed like there were mental health issues or drugs involved, like we see with a lot of things here in downtown L.A.,” he said.
The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a battery investigation into the incident KTLA confirmed, though no suspect information or news of a potential arrest has been released.
Meanwhile, Martinez’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her recovery and raise awareness about the dangers street vendors face daily.
“I hope that my mom gets justice for what happened to her,” Garcia said. He added that he’s been encouraged by the public response to the video.
“I’m grateful people are sympathizing with my mom,” he said. “People are giving it the attention it deserves.”
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