Burglary suspect shot by resident in Mar Vista

[Updated: 5:33 p.m.  Two young men accompanying the suspected burglar fled before police arrived, Los Angeles Police Officer Rosario Herrera said. The shooting occurred in the 3800 block of Beethoven Street, and the gunshot victim was taken to a local hospital where he was in stable condition, Herrera said.

“The shooter wasn’t arrested, it was in self-defense,” Herrera said.]

 

A man suspected of burglarizing cars in the Mar Vista area was shot in the face by a resident early this morning, police said.

The man was breaking into vehicles when he was confronted by a resident at about 1:40 a.m., said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Dennis Beacham.

"He was subsequently shot and sustained a gunshot wound to the facial area," Beacham said. "It’s my understanding he’s in stable condition."

Police did not release the name or age of the victim, and would not say whether the resident who shot him was arrested.

-- Corina Knoll

 

Comments

[d]

I suppose maybe burglars will think twice now...

[p]

yea, just like in the wild west.

[Matthew]

Ms. Knoll, I take issue with your identification of the burglar as the "victim". Shouldn't they be more appropriately identified as a suspect. Aren't the victims those who own the cars that were burglarized? This individual was supposedly breaking the law when a citizen attempted to protect their property. In the absence of any extenuating circumstances, we should be applauding the resident.

[H]

He should of taken better aim and made sure this guy was dead.

[MIKE]

TOO BAD HE MADE IT. ONE MORE DEAD THIEF. NOW WE HAVE TO
PAY TO KEEP THE FOOL IN JAIL AND PAY FOR A TRIAL.
MAYBE IF THERE WERE MORE CITIZENS LIKE THE SHOOTER
THINGS WOULD BE BETTER FOR THE REST OF US!

[vs]

Perhaps the next time the average citizen serves jury duty they will ignore some of the ridiculous laws we have in California, and hang the jury up by refusing to convict someone who was clearly in the "right" but made a bad decision and actually shot the criminal stealing their hard earned property. Probation should be the only option for the person who shot this criminal in the face. What's right is right and no jury instruction, Judge or DA is going to tell me how I should level justice. The shooter is a hero.

[jennie]

I live on the block where this happened, and I'm not sure what's more scary: a guy breaking into cars or another guy that takes it upon himself to shoot someone in the face. What if he was mistaken about the burglary? That's why we have police and courts.

Also, someone should come clean up the blood on the sidewalk.

[Jon K.]

I have to agree with Matthew.

[SarahR]

Yes, Matthew, H, and Mike, because property that's covered by insurance is far more important than a human life.

That's sarcasm, in case you're lacking a sarcasm detector as well as empathy and perspective. I just can't see how a few broken car windows and stolen CDs are worth wishing the burglar had been killed.

Now, if the story said the burglar had a gun that he'd pulled on the man who shot him, I might be more inclined to agree with you.

[Robert Wachsmuth]

1. The article listed the "victim" as the burglary suspect.

2. The article asks; was the resident arrested ?

I ask the following questions:

1. Was the suspect, yes the burglary suspect, booked in the jail hospital ward of the L.A. County Jail ?

2. Will be be prosecuted as a theif ?

Notations: The victim was the man who's car was being broken into, not the theif who was shot.

[Dan]

I just hope that the man who shot this guy doesn't go to jail. They really need to re-consider California Law and allow people to defend their property, not only their lives.

[MLK]

Vigilantly Justice

[Jim Q. Citizen]

I remember about 20 years ago, a female off-duty LAPD officer shot and killed a young latino trying to break into a VW in her apartments parking lot in Santa Monica. I think she got a promotion after it was determined that the screwdriver the kid had (in his pocket at twenty feet away from the officer) represented a threat requiring deadly force.

Guess this Mar Vista boy is lucky but....
nothing like getting shot in the face to spoil your prom pictures.

[John from the Westside]

Thanks for the re-write Ms. Knoll. 'Victim' really was not the correct term here (as Matthew pointed out). Suspect or perpetrator was the more correct term. And in my opinion, 'the deceased' would have been the best term we could have had, but obviously the officer had more restraint than I would have had.

[ConcernedCitizenofMarVista]

The wild west mentality of some of the commenters is really SAD. Whether or not that these guys were breaking into cars, you call the police, not just go get your gun and start aiming and shooting. Some of the news articles about this incident say that one of the residents shot him "by accident", or that his gun went off "by accident" PLEASE! There were FOUR shots and most people on this block heard and know that! How did his gun go off "by accident" FOUR times!?? What about shooting at "unarmed" people, and possbly killing or injuring others with your errant bullets? When I see people breaking into cars, I call LAPD, and generally they are here immediately. All vigilantism does create more possible senarios for innocent residents to get hurt or killed. Many of us are tired of guns, no matter who is holding them. It's just cold metal death.

[Jesse]

A kid breaks into your car so you shoot him in the face... I'm no fan of thieves but I'm even less of a fan of shooting people in the face.

[Armed Citizen]

if california would allow its residents to carry concealed weapons then maybe alot more would be thieves would think twice about committing a crime knowing your average citizen is armed and trained dangerous.however california loves inmates because of the money it brings...$$$

[Right Hand of God]

Seems to me that 99% of those that have posted so far deserve what the burglar got.

The Truth

[koo]

Yes, "d", the burglars will think twice now... and will make sure that he is fully armed to the teeth... I suppose you also believe that the fact we have a death penalty and sometimes we execute them will make sure killers will think twice... the article does not say, possibly because the arrest might come after the police investigation is complete, but the law is clear - deadly force is not allowed for property crimes. The only way the shooter (the car incident) gets off is if there is evidence that the shooter was in a life threatening situation... I'm sure the police will follow up with the "victim" once he recovers enough.

[locololo]

Hey, the idiot is alive. Too bad we couldn't just cut off his offending hand before he leaves the hospital and have the state pay for the surgery. I'd chip in a few bucks to help out.

[Linda]

The fact that so many commenters here are more concerned about the criminal -- and by criminal, I mean the one committing the CRIME of burglary -- than the person protecting his neighborhood and defending his own life explains why Los Angeles is going down the toilet.

And "jennie" et al ... the reason Mar Vista is such a crappy neighborhood is that you are looking for "someone" else to clean up the sidewalk. Do it yourself. Quit looking to others to "fix" things for you. Quit castigating those who step up to do the right thing when you're too cowardly to do so. Do these things, and eventually Mar Vista and the rest of Los Angeles could be renewed -- reverting from the cesspool it's become to once again be the nice place to live that it was just a couple of decades ago.

[Western Indiana]

It is plain to see that we do not have the whole story here. Yes a burglar was shot, no big deal, but the reporter couldn't seem to get the facts together. Right after the first paragraph it is stated that the shooter was not arrested, and at the end of the article it is stated that the reporter didn't know if the shooter was arrested, or not. I'd hate to see how that reporter would mess up a long article, from the looks of this short one.The police cannot be everywhere, so it is good to see that someone stood up for the protection of their property. Shot in the face? Probably the nerves of the shooter caused that.

[CB]

Smith & Wesson . . . the world's first point and click interface.

Having had 3 cars stolen within a mile of this incident, I am so glad the shooter will not be prosecuted. If this happened more often, maybe our city would not be held hostage by roving thieves and wouldn't be such a Third World cesspool today.

[calvinmilam]

I haven't read all these comments and don't really know anymore that what I reported to greater world from the CNS newsdesk about a hour after this happened, and what I heard on the police frequencies as cops and ffs were responding.

First off, it was dispatched as a home-invasion robbery (for whatever reasons, LAPD radio transmissions are becoming less and less reliable -- apparently.)

Cops held off firefighters, as they often do when there's even a slight possibility a hostile shooter is out there, for a while, and there seemed to be great confusion over where it actually occurred. More than one cop was saying it happened in Culver City. Maybe that's just where Shotface wound up.

After much badgering -- Does anyone out there have any idea how hard it is to get cops to even confirm that these things happen? -- cops tell my reporter in Parker Center that: several residents (won't specify) confronted three suspects who were breaking out glass on cars. Two glass-smasher fled, while one person goes home grabs a gun and goes after the straggler. They fight, 23-year-old kid (cops'll never say who anymore unless you legally force them to, which takes a while and therefore kills any newness to the "news.")

The sarge over at PacStn tells my reporter the wounded kid is in stable condition. Well, so is Stonehenge.

Suffice it to say, it is highly unlikely any news organization will ever follow this story.

[theaton]

The guy that was shot was not the victim, he was the perpetrator of the crime. The resident that shot the criminal was the victim of the crime.

[ConcernedCitizenofMarVista]

For all of you people posting and whining about what a "Third World cesspool" Los Angeles is, that L.A. "is going down the toilet" or that Mar Vista is a "ghetto"....GET A GRIP! If you don't like living here....MOVE!!! Please! Too many people sit around Sunday Morning Quarterbacking, and do NOTHING to solve the issues, or problems. I've lived 50-100 feet from where the incident happened for over 25 years, and know for a fact that two minutes after calling 9-1-1 there was not only LAPD cars all over the area but a SMPD car that had also responded. The shooting happened shortly after 1:35am, and at 4:45AM LAPD was still at one of the evence areas with yellow tape preserving the scene until the LAPD photographer could take pics. Mind you, this was on a Friday night in a city that has about less than one third the police support of other major metropolises. It's not their fault that the financial state of L.A., L.A. Co., and the State of California is like this. If you think you can do a better job, try. And no, I am definitely NOT a cop. Wouldn't want their job for the world. I have NEVER been a victim or a crime in Mar Vista, nor have I ever had a car stolen in over a quarter of a century. Yeah, "stuff" happens, but if some of you actually have it enter your mind to compare Mar Vista and/or Los Angeles to a third world country? Obviously you live in a bubble, your own universe where the only thing that matters is what benefits YOU! If you want something to change, don't just sit there, get involved and help. Los Angeles doesn't need complainers, it needs people who appreciate it and want to better it's already pretty great society.

[CRL]

If thieves were shot more frequently we would have far less of them... Of course then journalists who can't differentiate between the criminal and the victim of a crime wouldn't have nearly as much material to write about.

[Qazaq Hussein Asarius]

I just sat down and figured I'd read something my father left open, and before sitting down I just inserted GTA san adreas disk into the computer, I think that parts of that area are like L.A. You know, I think I would agree that if people would protect their property, then thugs, (cops& criminals) would behave, after all isn't america based upon having guns to keep the criminals in line, (governement and thugs) ??? ahh nuke it, ima go play my game

[HiloBob]

Occupational hazards are to be expected...