'Person of interest' in San Fernando Valley shootings arrested for animal cruelty

PACOIMA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The "person of interest" in the San Fernando Valley shootings has been identified as 34-year-old Alexander Hernandez.

Hernandez, a Sylmar resident, was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty for an incident that happened Saturday when he allegedly shot and killed two dogs. He is being held on $1 million bail.

While he is still considered a "person of interest" in the San Fernando shootings, police say no other suspects are being sought.

A random killing spree left three people dead within the span of an hour Sunday. The first shooting took place on Celis Street near Workman Street in San Fernando just before 6 a.m.

A family of five was headed to church when they pulled over because a gold or tan SUV was driving erratically behind them. The SUV pulled up, and a gunman opened fire, killing 22-year-old Mariana Franco, who was wheelchair-bound. Her parents, both ministers at a San Fernando church, were injured in the attack.

About 45 minutes, police found a man in his mid-20s to mid-30s shot to death at a park in the 13000 block of Borden Avenue in Sylmar.

Fifteen minutes later, 59-year-old Gloria Tovar was shot and killed at the intersection of Filmore Street and Magee Avenue in Pacoima. She had been waiting in her car to pick someone up for church.

"She was always willing to help others before herself, and she was a very devoted Catholic, a wonderful mother," said Lucia Montano, Tovar's daughter.

Hernandez was taken into custody Sunday night following an hour-long standoff in Sylmar.

Investigators are widening their investigation to include at least two other shootings that happened last week: one man killed in Pacoima, and a woman shot at on the 5 Freeway. The LAPD and the L.A. County Heriff's Department are examining the cases as the possible work of Hernandez.

A neighbor said Hernandez had been behaving strangely recently, parking in the driveway where he lived, facing the street and watching neighbors all night.

Anyone with information about the shootings is urged to call police at (877) LAPD-24-7.