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“In towns and cities... there is no more important institution than the local paper.”
Warren Buffett
By Randy Economy
A dramatic and dangerous standoff in Hawaiian Gardens ended with the arrest of a Riverside County murder suspect last Saturday afternoon and the incident also resulted in a portion of the small community to be placed on mandatory lock down for more than seven hours.
The ordeal also caused the City of Hawaiian Gardens 50th Anniversary Parade to be delayed and rerouted to other streets to avoid the area where the standoff was taking place.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau team members took suspect Alfredo Lopez, Jr., an adult male into custody after he led officers on a high speed pursuit for several miles. Lopez reportedly shot the mother of his two children at least six times with a small-caliber handgun in Riverside County earlier in the day.
Lopez led officers on a dangerous chase throughout many cities that ended at the intersection of Carson Street and Norwalk Boulevard. He refused to surrender and barricaded himself in the vehicle. The SWAT officers, as well as several crisis negotiators worked for hours that resulted in Lopez’s surrender.
HMG-CN can confirm that Lopez was heavily armed.
Also, the City of Hawaiian Gardens 50th Anniversary Parade that was scheduled to take place at 10 a.m., was delayed, shortened in length, and was held at a new route in another part of the city.
Carson Street was closed between Juan Avenue and Norwalk Boulevard. In addition, Norwalk Boulevard remained closed between 216th Street and 223rd Street.
