Suspect arrested in Los Angeles-area bowling alley shooting

[January 08, 2019]  By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Police arrested a 47-year-old man on Monday for allegedly shooting dead three people and wounding four others in a brawl at a Los Angeles area bowling alley and said he had served a 17-year prison sentence for assault with a firearm.

The shooting shortly before midnight on Friday in the suburban community of Torrance triggered a manhunt for the suspect, who was identified as Reginald Wallace.

"At this time, we believe we have the sole shooter in this incident," Torrance police chief Eve Irvine said at a news conference.

Wallace, a resident of Los Angeles, has not been formally charged in the shooting and it was not immediately clear if he had obtained an attorney.

He was released from a California prison in 2017 after serving a 17-year sentence for assault with a firearm and was on parole for that crime, Irvine said.

The shooting followed an argument between two men at Gable House Bowl about 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown Los Angeles that grew into a melee with at least 10 people involved.

Wallace pulled a handgun from his pocket and shot into the crowd, Irvine said.

The bowling alley provided video which helped lead police to the suspect, who surrendered peacefully when he was approached by heavily armed police in Los Angeles, Irvine said. He was being held without bail in a county jail.

The shooting was a "senseless act of violence", the police chief said.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Bill Tarrant and Sonya Hepinstall)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.