Law Enforcement

Police seek gunman in fatal North Hollywood shooting
Police are searching for a gunman who fatally shot a man in North Hollywood Thursday evening, authorities said. The shooting occurred about 6 p.m. at Laurel Canyon and Victory boulevards, said Los Angeles Police Officer Jane Kim. The victim and the gunman are believed to have both been on foot when the shooting occurred.
Los Angeles Times

Two downtown L.A. kidnapping victims found safe; suspect at large
Two people have been found after they were kidnapped Wednesday and held for ransom in downtown Los Angeles, police said. Details about their recovery, including information about where they were found, were not immediately released because of the "active investigation," LAPD Officer Jane Kim said.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD Metro Division's 7th Annual Randy Simmons 5k Challenge Run, Crossfit and Bike Ride
On Saturday, October 11, the Los Angeles Police Department will be honoring LAPD SWAT Officer Randy Simmons in their 7th Annual 5K Run, Bike Ride and Crossfit Challenge. Officer Randy Simmons was the first LAPD SWAT Officer to be killed in the line of duty. He was an extraordinary police officer, a positive role model and a constant mentor for "at risk" youth.
KTLA

LAPD, children with autism learn to understand each other
As part of a project called Mission Possible, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Autism Society of Los Angeles came together Thursday to give 100 area children and teens with autism and related disorders a chance to spend the day with members of law enforcement. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck called the program a valuable way to bring two sides together to learn more about each other.
Los Angeles Daily News

Body found in van in South Los Angeles, coroner investigating
A body found in a van in South Los Angeles Thursday was turned over to coroner's investigators for identification and establishing the cause of death. Los Angeles police said the body was found about 9:50 a.m. in the 400 block of East 41st Street and the case was turned over to detectives.
City News Service

2 LAPD detectives coax suicidal woman from edge of 110 Freeway overpass
Two Los Angeles Police Department detectives prevented a woman from jumping to her death from a freeway overpass, authorities said Thursday. Detectives Gerry Loza and John Moreno saw the woman on the overpass to the Harbor (110) Freeway near 22nd Street about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday while they were conducting an investigation in the area, LAPD officials said.
City News Service

Police: USC students stole lawn statues, plants for frat party
A group of USC students with an odd sense of what it takes to throw a cool fraternity party were arrested early Wednesday after allegedly raiding an Alhambra neighborhood for plants and lawn ornaments - including a Buddha. The students, who were released from custody, were candidates for Sigma Nu membership. But now they are at the center of an investigation not just by police but by Sigma Nu Fraternity Inc.
Los Angeles Times

Body of John Doe could be FBI most-wanted fugitive last seen in 1976
The body of a John Doe struck by a car and killed on a rural Alabama highway more than 30 years ago could be of a fugitive currently on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. In a court filing to exhume the body, FBI officials note that photos taken of John Doe after his death in 1981 resemble William Bradford Bishop Jr. Bishop, who had worked as a State Department diplomat in Europe and Africa, is suspected of bludgeoning to death his mother, wife and three sons in Bethesda, Md., in March 1976.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Garcetti: It's 'highly likely' NFL team will come to L.A.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday that a National Football League team is "highly likely" to return to the city in the next year. On an "Ask the Mayor" segment on KNX-AM (1070), Garcetti said that though L.A. doesn't want to subsidize a stadium, he thinks the NFL is "finally interested" in Los Angeles again. The sale of the Clippers, he said, showed "just how valuable the L.A. franchise could be."
Los Angeles Times

L.A. parks commission fails to decide on Greek Theatre operator
The heated battle over who will run one of the most treasured venues in Los Angeles - the Greek Theatre - continued Thursday when a city commission failed to choose a bidder to operate the Griffith Park attraction. The debate over the Greek has stirred protests by neighbors worried that a change of management could mean more noise and other nuisances. The theater is in a sensitive location, close to the park entrance and reached by roads that wind past homes in an affluent stretch of Los Feliz.
Los Angeles Times