Alleged landlord-tenant dispute in Northridge sparks deadly shooting

NORTHRIDGE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An alleged tenant-landlord dispute at an apartment building in Northridge led to a shooting that left one woman hospitalized and the suspect dead, according to authorities.

The shooting was reported at 11:25 a.m. Friday in the 17000 block of Plummer Street, near Balboa Boulevard, where a woman in her 40s was found inside a car with gunshot wounds.

She was reportedly "in and out" of consciousness and was transported to a nearby hospital where she remains in critical condition.

According to police, the shooting stemmed from a dispute about an eviction notice.

"It looks like it was some type of dispute regarding an eviction process," a police spokesperson told reporters at the scene Friday afternoon. "It was the suspect that was part of the eviction process, and sometime, there was some type of verbal dispute, and then that's when the incident occurred."

Frank Robinson, a resident, told Eyewitness News he had gone to the gym and when he returned to the scene, he was told he couldn't get into the apartment building.

"It's a senior retirement community, and everybody gets along and has fun, so it's a complete shock that somebody would actually shoot somebody here in the streets," he said.

A widespread search for the suspect lasted for several hours, with more than a dozen officers summoned to the scene. The suspect, who was described only as a woman in her 70s, was reportedly hiding in an apartment, according to authorities.

She was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot shortly after.

Dearborn Elementary, Balboa Magnet, and Holmes Middle School were locked down during the search. The lockdowns have since been lifted and the schools have been deemed safe for students and safe.

AIR7 HD video taken around 3 p.m. showed a mostly clear scene. No other injuries were reported.

The incident remains under investigation.