A SWAT officer stands near an apartment building where a homicide suspect was believed to have been hiding for hours. (KTLA-TV / August 22, 2010) |
TORRANCE -- A man suspected of fatally shooting a neighbor, possibly over a noise dispute, eventually took his own life after hiding out inside a Torrance apartment complex for more than 12 hours, according to police.
SWAT officers discovered the man's body early Monday after searching the complex at 4023 242nd St., near Hawthorne Boulevard.
It appeared the suspect was in his own apartment and that he shot himself, according to Sgt. Jeremiah Hart of the Torrance Police Department. The man's identity has not been released.
Police were called to the apartment complex around 3:40 p.m. Sunday and found a male victim dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses had reported hearing 12 to 15 gunshots.
Officers closed off the area and escorted residents away as they searched for the suspect.
Witnesses say the victim and the suspect were neighbors who constantly fought over noise. It's believed the fatal shooting may have stemmed from a dispute over loud music.
Other residents of the apartment complex said the suspect had caused trouble for others living near him before.
"The guy's a wackjob" said Thelma Balcomb, a resident who was displaced by the incident, "He's walked around with guns trying to make people afraid of him before and instead of moving him or reporting him the manager just relocated him to another apartment building."
The victim is said to have been a 39 year old man with two young children.
SWAT officers discovered the man's body early Monday after searching the complex at 4023 242nd St., near Hawthorne Boulevard.
It appeared the suspect was in his own apartment and that he shot himself, according to Sgt. Jeremiah Hart of the Torrance Police Department. The man's identity has not been released.
Police were called to the apartment complex around 3:40 p.m. Sunday and found a male victim dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses had reported hearing 12 to 15 gunshots.
Officers closed off the area and escorted residents away as they searched for the suspect.
Witnesses say the victim and the suspect were neighbors who constantly fought over noise. It's believed the fatal shooting may have stemmed from a dispute over loud music.
Other residents of the apartment complex said the suspect had caused trouble for others living near him before.
"The guy's a wackjob" said Thelma Balcomb, a resident who was displaced by the incident, "He's walked around with guns trying to make people afraid of him before and instead of moving him or reporting him the manager just relocated him to another apartment building."
The victim is said to have been a 39 year old man with two young children.
