USC shooting suspect pleads not guilty to attempted murder charges

The 20-year-old Inglewood security guard accused of shooting four people at a Halloween party on the USC campus pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon to four counts of attempted murder, prosecutors said.

Brandon Spencer, 20, allegedly got in an argument on Oct. 31 outside a Halloween party being held at the Ronald Tutor Student Center. He exchanged words with former Crenshaw High School football star Geno Hall in a dispute that escalated into a shooting.

Spencer fired several shots, authorities said, wounding a total of four people. Hall suffered the most serious wounds and continues to recover. He underwent a three-hour surgery, his father said, for several gunshot wounds to his stomach, thigh, leg and buttocks.

PHOTOS: Shooting at USC Halloween party

Spencer was apprehended almost immediately after the shooting, which was witnessed by campus police.

Prosecutors allege that Spencer has gang ties.

If convicted, he will face life in prison.

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-- Andrew Blankstein

Photo: USC safety officers patrol the campus the day after a shooting wounded four people outside an on-campus Halloween party. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times