Authorities have released the identities of two victims of a shooting that took place early Wednesday morning in a vehicle near the USC campus. A woman, Ying Wu, and a man, Ming Qu, were found shot to death at the scene of what may have been a botched carjacking. Both victims, in their 20s, are graduate engineering students from China. more ›

A man suspected of stealing a car at knifepoint (and later using that same knife to slice his own neck for unknown reasons) was hospitalized after leading police on a chase through South Los Angeles into the Mid-City area. more ›

A 21-year-old man was shot in the head and left on the side of the road yesterday afternoon in a desert area near Lake Los Angeles after an alleged carjacking, reports City News Service. The man was found by a cyclist who lives in the area, reports KTLA. more ›

A carjacking victim hung on for dear life as he tried to stop two men who hijacked and then crashed his car in Hollywood last night. The two men asked the victim David Christopher Duncan, if he could help them find the keys in their van around 1 a.m. in Hollywood last night, according to CBS Los Angeles. Duncan offered to help and grabbed a flashlight for them, when he heard his car engine being revved up and realized that he had been conned. more ›

According to an LASD newsroom release, "A 30-year old Chatsworth man is in custody in Santa Clarita after stabbing his mother multiple times; carjacking a car from a second woman, assaulting her and kidnapping her 4-year old son, then crashing the carjacked car; stealing a deputy’s car when he rushed to rescue the child; driving off a 100’ embankment and crashing and burning the deputy’s radio car; then trying to pull the shotgun from the burning patrol car; and fighting with and biting deputies who arrested him." more ›

With the help of the public, the LAPD was able to take into custody the suspect they'd characterized as "desperate and reckless" whom they sought in conjunction with a crime spree Saturday morning that involved multiple attempted and successful car thefts and other criminal activities in the West Valley area. more ›

The LAPD have released information and a map detailing an early-morning crime spree conducted by one man yesterday morning through the Valley and into the hills around Sepulveda Boulevard in the hopes the public can help identify the suspect. more ›

After lending aid to a man who claimed to have just been attacked by gang members, she was sexually assaulted and carjacked by the man she was helping. It began Sunday night in Burbank when an 18-year-old woman was approached by the suspect who said he needed to get out of the area after just being "jumped" by four gangmembers. more ›

The San Fernando Valley based Snopes.com has gotten to the bottom of an e-mail floating around to Whittier residents describing one driver being told by another driver that their tire is going flat, so they should pull over so the other one could fix it. The driver said no thanks and went home, finding the tire to be perfectly fine. Robbery and car jacking attempt? That's the conclusion of the e-mail and it states it's been happening everywhere because of, you guessed it, the economy. The Whittier Police confirmed that a report as such was filed, but that they did not say this was happening widespread. more ›

Photo by Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

• The Daily News has more details on those marijuana vending machines. Besides, you know, the fact that they are TOTALLY AWESOME!
• A rash of gang violence in Watts since the weekend has led to two shooting deaths and the injury of at least 13 others.
• Yahoo is not doing so well: a major drop in fourth quarter profits is going to mean layoffs somewhere in the neighborhood of of 7% of the workforce.
• Four people, including one juvenile, were arrested in Glendale for an attempted carjacking in which the suspects are accused of threatening the driver with a shotgun: "A suspect fired at the frightened driver as he took off in his truck, and shotgun pellets hit the back of the truck."
• More on the USC "Riots" and the cops who spoiled the party, from L.A. blogger WitnessLA: "Now, no one would argue against an officer having the right to use appropriate force on a large, drunk, bottle-throwing college guy. But, in multiple instances eyewitnesses insist that they saw an indiscriminate use of Tasers and batons on non-aggressive students."
• This isn't really news...which doesn't stop it from being TOTALLY AWESOME: make your Guitar Hero controllers into actual instruments!
• An asteroid passed by earth today, a mere 334 thousand miles away from us! Close calls, guys!

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