A New Year's burst of violence left at least five people dead Thursday in Los Angeles County, including a man shot outside a "Winter Wonderland" holiday party in the Coldwater Canyon section of Los Angeles.
"It's a really tragic way to start the new year," said Sgt. Duane Leonard of the Pomona Police Department, which reported that a 46-year-old woman had confessed to fatally shooting her husband near the Phillips Ranch neighborhood.
The bloodshed began early, when Long Beach police received a call at 12:40 a.m. for what turned out to be the first homicide of the year -- a 25-year-old man shot outside a New Year's celebration on Gardenia Avenue.
Sarith Em of Long Beach was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. A woman identified as Vannaly Tim, 24, was shot in the same incident and later died at a hospital, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
A motive for the shootings was not clear and details were not immediately available, said Long Beach Police Officer Jackie Bezart. Many partygoers were in the area and investigators hope witnesses will come forward with information, the officer said.
"This is not the norm" for the city, Bezart said. "It's a new year and we are looking for a new beginning."
The Coldwater Canyon slaying occurred just outside a four-story home in a neighborhood bordering Harvard-Westlake School and St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church.
The "Winter Wonderland" party was winding down at a tan stucco home in the 3900 block of Avenida del Sol about 4 a.m. when a man, dressed casually in sneakers and a sweat shirt, got out of a sport utility vehicle and walked up to the house.
Several partygoers were still milling around in the street, and the man spoke to at least one of them. After a discussion, the man was shot four or five times at close range, said Lt. Alan Hamilton of the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood Division.
The man, whose identity was not disclosed by police, was found slumped on a curb across the street. Party guests had left before authorities arrived.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. A stream of blood trickled down the street several feet, pooling in a small spot just uphill from the church.
Neighbor Meredith Adams, 69, said she awoke to gunshots at 4 a.m.
"I heard three sharp shots and that's all I know," Adams said. "I told my husband and he said not to worry about it, that it's probably just a New Year's thing."
