(TargetDailyNews.com) – A geriatric sharpshooter found himself in handcuffs last week after police figured out he was allegedly behind a 10-year string of slingshot attacks against his neighbors.
Eighty-one-year-old Prince King of Azusa in Southern California is accused of degrading the quality of life in his neighborhood on North Enid Avenue for a decade. Dubbed a “serial slingshot shooter,” King allegedly shot out his neighbors’ windshields and windows and sometimes even took aim at people.
Armed with a search warrant on May 23rd, police investigated King at home and apparently found ball bearings and a slingshot. Local cops have been on the lookout for the “shooter” for some time, but have had trouble pinning down who it might be. Details are scant, but Lt. Jake Bushey said investigators finally determined that the ball bearings were most likely coming from King’s property.
A press release from Azusa police explained that cops completed a long investigation into the decades-long string of incidents and found that “dozens of citizens” were being “victimized” by someone with a slingshot. Lt. Bushey said cops first looked into the problem a decade ago, but “we just didn’t identify who the suspect was.” He said the targets of the slingshot attacks were not random, but it was not known why King allegedly targeted certain people and not others.
It is not clear what King’s motive may have been, but police think it may just be a desire to get up to “malicious mischief.”
After news of the arrest, several neighborhood residents posted on the Azusa police department’s Facebook page claiming windows in their homes and cars had been shot out.
A recent increase in complaints from the neighborhood reinvigorated the police investigation. Cops were able to detect a pattern which eventually let them pinpoint a specific house.
Naturally, neighbors are relieved. Monico Palomino said he would often leave his house to “find little BBs by the front door.” Palomino said, “I’m very glad the person was caught.”
Sadly, only days after his arrest, Mr. King was discovered dead in his home of natural causes.
Copyright 2024, TargetDailyNews.com