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The 45-year-old man who shot and killed one man and wounded two women on Tuesday in Azusa was high on cocaine at the time of the rampage, authorities say. According to LASD Lt. John Corwina, the man, whose name has yet to be released, had been on a cocaine bender since at least Monday night, prompting his wife and two children to leave the home in fear, the L.A. Times reports.
On Tuesday at about 2 p.m., the man walked out of his house and fired a rifle at a passing van, causing the woman driving the vehicle to crash. He then shot and killed his neighbor, 77-year-old Francis Varney, who had come outside to see what was happening. The man also shot and wounded a woman who was walking through the neighborhood. He later barricaded himself inside of his home and was fatally shot in a gunfight with authorities. No officers were hurt.
The two women were both listed in critical condition this morning, City News Service reports. One had been struck in the body, while the other sustained a gunshot wound to her face.
Investigators do not think the election had anything to do with the shooting, and that it's possible the man was angry because his wife and children left, the Press-Enterprise reports. Corina described the man as "kind of a gun fanatic," and investigators found four firearms in the man's home as well as plenty of ammunition. Relatives told investigators that this was not the man's first cocaine binge.
