Livermore homicide near Walmart and Kohl's not a random attack; suspect arrested: police
LIVERMORE, Calif. (KTVU) - A man wanted in connection with a homicide in Livermore was captured in Elk Grove Wednesday afternoon.
Police say 30-year-old John Inocencio, a homeless man from Livermore, allegedly shot and killed another man in a shopping center parking lot.
It happened around 4:06 a.m. Wednesday in a parking lot off Las Positas Avenue and Interstate 580 between a Kohl's store and a Walmart.
Police said it was not a random attack, and that the victim, who has not been identified, and Inocencio were acquaintances.
Police say the two men were both transients living in the homeless encampment along a creek that runs parallel to Interstate 580.
The two men got into some sort of argument as police described and Inocencio opened fire with a rifle. The victim was shot multiple times and died at the scene.
“I heard gunshots and someone was screaming. A girl was screaming. And I just kind of took off. It scared me,” said Daniel Rippy, an encampment resident.
Officials say several hundred homeless residents live along the creek. While there are instances of violence, it is the first homicide in the area.
Family members of the victim came to the scene weeping. They told KTVU that the man who died is 30-year-old Juan Manuel Elias and say he had been living in the homeless encampment near the creek for the past couple years.
Livermore police said they were already on their way up to Elk Grove to check out a tip about Inocencio when they got a call from authorities up there saying he had been pulled over. He was driving a white Bronco and was taken into custody without incident.
Investigators say Inocencio is charged with murder and related gun crimes and is being held in the county jail until his arraignment.
About five hours after the shooting, two women living in the homeless encampment flagged down police and told them that another woman was injured after being grazed by a bullet in the shooting. The woman was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Livermore Police were not able to confirm her injury or whether she was hurt as a bystander in the shooting.