Investigators seek answers in Canyon Country shooting

Sheriff's Deputies investigate a shooting at a liquor store at the corner of Golden Valley Road and Sierra Highway on Saturday Night, February 02, 2020. Dan Watson/The Signal
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Detectives are investigating the circumstances around a fatal shooting at a Canyon Country liquor store Sunday night that left a store owner wounded and the suspect dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

New details have emerged since the shooting first took place at approximately 8:21 p.m. Sunday, while other critical pieces of information — such as the type of firearms used or the identities of the parties involved — have yet to be released, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau officials.

Lt. Robert Westphal said Monday afternoon that investigators believe both the store owner and suspect, who is suspected of walking into Golden Stop Liquor on the 19900 block of Golden Valley Road with the intention of robbing the place, had their own firearms.

However, the types of firearms used by both parties were not available as of 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Westphal said.

“As part of our normal investigation, we’ll look into the source of the guns,” said Westphal.

Sheriff’s Deputies investigate a shooting at a liquor store at the corner of Golden Valley Road and Sierra Highway on Saturday Night, February 02, 2020. Dan Watson/The Signa

Both the suspect and the store owner were shot during the incident, according to officials. While the store owner was shot once in what appeared to be the lower part of his body, the suspect was reportedly shot multiple times, said Deputy Tracy Koerner of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

Additionally, Westphal added that during their investigation, they’ll be analyzing the justifiability of the shooting. At the end of their investigation, detectives will make a determination and then pass their recommendation on to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which would then make the final decision on whether to charge the store owner.

Video footage from Santa Clarita Valley freelance journalist Austin Dave showed a lone man, crawling out of the store. Based on video footage, the man appeared to have been shot in the lower part of his body.

As deputies approached the store entrance, guns drawn, the wounded man continued to crawl out of the store until a deputy grabbed him and pulled him out.

Paramedics soon arrived on the scene thereafter.

“(The suspect) may be looked at as someone who’s committed other crimes in the area,” said Westphal. “There was an armed robber that walked into a store, and barring that (the store owner) is not a convicted felon (or has any other reason to not legally own a firearm), as a general rule, they’re allowed to have a weapon inside their business.”

On Sunday night, multiple people who identified themselves as family members of the store owner were seen on the scene. They declined to comment about the incident.

Sheriff’s Deputies investigate a shooting at a liquor store at the corner of Golden Valley Road and Sierra Highway on Saturday Night, February 02, 2020. Dan Watson/The Signa

As deputies put up police tape, cordoning off much of the parking lot, patrons of nearby La Cocina restaurant walked to their cars. An unnamed restaurant employee said they had been told to lock the doors as the situation unfolded outside.

As of Monday afternoon, no arrests had been made as a result of the incident.

Officials with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office were spotted at the site of the reported shooting well into Monday morning.

The identification of the suspect has not yet been released by the Coroner’s Office. Because the Sheriff’s Department investigation is pending, Westphal declined to give the name of the store owner, who was reportedly transferred to a local area hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening shortly after the incident Sunday night.

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