A teenage girl was killed after a man she was dating forced his way into an Arcadia home and shot her, authorities said. The man then ran away and attempted to take his own life during a shooting in Pasadena, officials said.
A witness told The Times that multiple people witnessed the Pasadena shooting that took place on a sidewalk in broad daylight.
Arcadia police received a report of a possible shooting in the 800 block of West Huntington Avenue around 11 a.m. Thursday. The caller said a man was inside the residence and shots were fired.
Acadia police said in a statement Thursday afternoon that officers arrived to find a girl suffering from a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
When police arrived, the man, identified by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as 20-year-old Paul Anthony Cruz Jr., had fled the scene, the statement said. Arcadia police did not release the name of the victim.
The case remains under investigation and is being handled by the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Unit, according to Arcadia police.
Authorities believe the man fled to Pasadena, where he attempted suicide about an hour later.
The Sheriff’s Department said Cruz was in a dating relationship with the victim. According to the department, he “forced entry” into the Arcadia location.
The man was found in Pasadena with a self-inflicted gunshot wound around 12:30 p.m. Thursday and was taken to a hospital in critical condition, Pasadena city spokesperson Lisa Derderian said.
As Pasadena Police Department officers prepared to contact him, he shot himself, the Sheriff’s Department said. He remained in critical condition as of around 7 p.m.
Michael Amini, manager of Alliance Auto Body Shop on South Arroyo Boulevard, told The Times he was working across the street when the Pasadena shooting occurred. He said the area was “very busy” at the time and there were several other witnesses.
Amini said the suspect, who was being chased by police, parked his car in a Petco parking lot, walked to the sidewalk and pulled out his gun.
Amini said he saw the man lying face down after the shooting. He said police arrived about “five seconds” later.
“It’s really fast,” Amini said.