Alleged shooter in Trader Joe's parking lot in West Hills is charged with murder
A Connecticut man was charged Tuesday in a weekend shooting that left one man dead and three others injured in a Trader Joe’s parking lot in the San Fernando Valley, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Mark Connole, 34, faces one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder, as well as special allegations of using a handgun and inflicting great bodily injury.
“This brazen act of violence occurred in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. Innocent shoppers could easily have been hurt or killed,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement. “This shocking level of disregard for the safety and well-being of our community will not be tolerated.”
The violence unfolded around 3:45 p.m. Saturday in a West Hills shopping center that also included a Target, Home Depot and Walmart.
Prosecutors did not respond when asked what prompted the incident, in which an assailant shot the victims and fled the scene in a car.
Officers in a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter saw him get into another car. Connole and the driver of the second car, Amy Waters, were arrested at Owensmouth Avenue and Saticoy Street after a short pursuit. Two firearms were recovered.
Waters, 33, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and driving recklessly while attempting to flee a police officer.
The pair had been scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in the Van Nuys branch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, but their appearances were continued to April 13.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
