Gunman opens fire atop Southern California apartment complex, terrifies residents

Residents of a Marina del Rey apartment complex recounted the terrifying experience of sheltering in place, many in their bathtubs, for three hours as another resident of the complex indiscriminately fired off as many as 100 rounds from a firearm on the building’s rooftop over the weekend.

According to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s release, deputies from the Marina del Rey station responded to a call regarding gunshots from inside the apartment complex, located in the 4100 block of Via Marina, around 10:15 p.m. Saturday night.  

“Deputies established a containment of the location and requested additional resources,” the LASD update stated. “An LASD air unit observed a male suspect on the roof…firing rounds from a rifle.”  

“We heard three pops, and we weren’t sure what it was,” Elizabeth Amos, a resident of Pearl Apartments, told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff.  

Amos and her husband, Jeff Rubin, ran into the bathroom where they spent several painstaking hours sheltering in place.  

“We were like, ‘What is that?’ and then we heard the gunman by the pool saying something along the lines of, ‘I have an AR-15 and nobody cares,’ and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” she explained.  

“There would be like 20 minutes of silence,” Rubin added, “and then another round of gunshots and that went on for three hours.”  

Amos said it was almost more reassuring to hear the gunfire because at least they knew where the gunman was instead of a silence that meant he could have been anywhere in the building.

People returning home from a night out were forced duck for cover on the side of the road as deputies attempted to deescalate the suspect’s rampage.  

“My Uber dropped me off because my street was closed,” Marina del Rey resident Kierra Swusdee said. “I was walking down the [street] and this guy was crouching behind a car and was like ‘Come here, there’s a shooter!’ So, I ran and hid behind the car.” 

Amos and Rubin said they don’t know the reason for the violent outburst, but believe the man, which they later realized they know, was having a psychotic break.  

“Once we found out who it was, we realized that we knew the guy,” Amos said. “We’ve seen him a million times before. He was nice, normal, quiet, didn’t think once that he was anyone to worry about.”  

When additional units, including four Bearcat vehicles, arrived SWAT moved in with an arrest team and took the suspect into custody around 1 a.m., law enforcement officials confirmed. 

A photograph of the scene released by LASD reportedly shows the weapons the man left behind, including what appears to be two rifles, a handgun and some tactical gear.  

“If you tell me now that no one got hurt from all this, it’s hard to believe,” Rubin said.  

Sheriff’s department officials confirmed they were canvassing the area for evidence, witnesses and potential victims, however no victims were found. 

So far, authorities have not released the identity of the suspect.