Los Angeles, Ca
Widow of man shot dead in unprovoked attack on L.A. Metro bus speaks out
The wife of a man tragically gunned down on a Metro bus in Commerce last week is speaking out and sharing her pain over what investigators are calling a random and unprovoked murder.
The fatal May 16 shooting happened just before 5 p.m. aboard a Metro bus at Slauson and Boxford avenues.
Authorities say the suspect, 30-year-old Winston Apolinario Rivera, got on the bus in the 6200 block of Slauson and sat behind his victim, 32-year-old Juan Luis Gomez-Ramirez.
“As the bus came to a stop, the defendant allegedly walked to the rear exit, stopped behind Gomez-Ramirez, pointed a gun at his head and shot, instantly killing him,” prosecutors with the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Sarahi Lopez, the victim’s widow, told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe that she still feels compelled to visit the crime scene, parts of which are still stained with blood from the senseless shooting.
“With every day that passes, I feel more and more confused, like I don’t have any answers,” Lopez said in Spanish, as her attorney, Mario Acosta Jr., translated.
Lopez said she’s been agonizing over how the deadly incident happened, say her husband and father to their 1-year-old boy, was not the type to cause any conflict with anyone.
The couple worked as special education teachers in Mexico and had arrived in Los Angeles in February for a vacation. Wanting to stay longer, but needing cash, her husband landed a job packing clothes at a Commerce warehouse not far from where the shooting occurred.
Rivera was captured in the 6100 block of Peachtree Street, where he was hiding under a train, officials said. The 30-year-old has since been charged by the DA’s office with murder and a special allegation that he used a firearm while committing a crime.
“I need the killer to tell me why he did what he did,” Lopez said through her attorney. “I want him to be punished because he ended our family.”
Gomez-Ramirez’s killing came just hours after board members of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority held a press conference to talk about their response to a spree of high-profile violent incidents on and near buses and trains.
On May 13 alone, there were two separate stabbings aboard the Metro system. In the weeks leading up to those incidents, there was a stabbing on a train that left a grandmother dead in Studio City and another that left a bus driver and passenger in South Los Angeles injured.
On May 5, a driver on a Dash bus, which is operated by the city of L.A., was brutally assaulted by a homeless woman in an attack that was captured on video.
In March, a transient armed with an airsoft gun hijacked a Metro bus and crashed into the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Los Angeles.
The family’s attorney is now working to help Lopez with immigration issues, so she can stay in the United States and participate in the trial of her husband’s accused killer. The widow is considering a lawsuit against Metro and potentially other entities.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe has been organized to help her and her young son get by during this terrible ordeal.
Los Angeles, Ca
Boyle Heights warehouse cleanup begins as crews face 85 million pounds of spoiled food
Cleanup efforts are underway Thursday at the Boyle Heights cold-storage warehouse that burned for eight days after firefighters officially declared the massive blaze knocked down Wednesday evening. Los Angeles Fire Department crews remain at the Lineage warehouse near Union Pacific Avenue and South La Puente Street as they transition into the overhaul phase, searching for […]
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 […]
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