LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Four days after the body of a young boy was found near a dumpster in Panorama City, a suspect has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the case, authorities said.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the arrest, adding that a second suspect was arrested on unrelated charges. No other details were immediately provided.
The announcement came on the morning after community members gathered to mourn the boy at a vigil, and the mood shifted as police served a warrant in the homicide investigation.
The group gathered Tuesday night at a growing memorial of candles, balloons flowers at a parking lot where the deceased boy was found.
Meanwhile, officers served a search warrant an a nearby apartment complex on Lanark Street, just half a mile away from the crime scene. News video showed people being detained, including a man in a wheelchair and woman.
A large crowd gathered outside the apartment building, and jeered as an LAPD patrol car drove away with its lights and sirens on. Details about the search warrant have not been released.
This comes after new details were released in the death of the young boy who was found was over the weekend.
Police are calling it a “horrific” and “heinous” crime after the body of a 3- to 5-year-old boy was found on Saturday morning.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said during a police commission meeting earlier Tuesday that the boy appeared to be between 5 and 7 years old and showed signs of trauma.
The child has not been publicly identified and there’s been no match to a missing person, the chief added.
McDonnell said investigators canvassed the area for surveillance footage and “identified several potential sources of evidence.”
“We are coordinating with regional partners and continuing efforts to identify the victim and determine the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident,” McDonnell said at the meeting.
Officers found the child’s body Saturday morning after responding to the 8200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, the LAPD said. A homeless man reportedly found the boy and had someone call for help.
The officers requested a privacy canopy at the location and cordoned off the empty parking lot with yellow tape. The scene was in a commercial area that includes a nearby furniture store, a banquet hall and a nonprofit’s office.
Police initially said the boy was between 3 and 5 years old. A coroner will determine how the child died.
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