A suspect was arrested Sunday in the shooting death of a man in Venice Beach.
The suspect — a male Venice resident whose identity was being withheld – – was arrested without incident at 8:10 a.m., according to Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Soliman.
He was booked on suspicion of murder, Soliman said.
The suspect, whose case was scheduled to be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Sept. 21, was being held on $1 million bail.
Paramedics were sent at 2:10 a.m. to Rose Avenue and Ocean Front Walk, Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Witnesses said someone fired several shots within a group of homeless people at the oceanfront park, a frequent sleeping place for those without shelter.
Jascent-Jamal Lee Warren, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
Another man — said to be in his 40s — was shot in a leg, was treated at a local hospital and returned to the oceanfront park about noon, witnesses told CBS2.
The owner of the Cadillac Hotel, near the shooting scene, reportedly suffered head injuries at the hands of some homeless men after the shooting, CBS2 said.
Witnesses told the station the owner of the hotel was with the gunman at the time of the shooting.
Witnesses also said the unidentified gunman was operating under orders from the hotel owner, CBS2 reported.
The victim was among a large crowd of people in front of the Cadillac Hotel when a fight broke out over who was camping where, according to witnesses who spoke off camera to television reporters.
Just after sunrise, Los Angeles police Sgt. Barry Montgomery told reporters “it appears now, at this time, that this incident was triggered by some sort of dispute among locals, which triggered this deadly attack.”
Police radio broadcasts said the shooter apparently left the scene in a black SUV, heading south on Speedway, the alley just inland from Ocean Front Walk.
Blood was steam-cleaned from the popular tourist attraction, which was reopened for public use before 8 a.m.
Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call LAPD’s West Homicide Bureau at 213-382-9470.
