Shootings California

Six people were shot and seriously wounded Friday night in the office of an industrial park and police issued an all-points bulletin for a heavy-set man, believed to be a security guard, who was driving a 1978 Cadillac. Three of the victims were taken to Mt. Diablo Hospital in Concord and the other three to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek. Authorities said they included three men and three women.

In this season of discontent with public employee unions, California's police officer associations are waging costly, fruitless and self-defeating campaigns to protect their members from legitimate public accountability. Police unions have recently inserted themselves in battles in Pasadena, Long Beach and the county of Los Angeles, all to prevent the release of names of officers involved in shootings. That's awful public policy. A police officer on duty performs a consummately public responsibility.

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded officially Thursday that a Pacific Southwest Airlines jetliner crashed near Paso Robles Dec. 7, 1987, because a gunman invaded the cockpit and attacked the pilot and co-pilot before committing suicide. The British-built BAe-146 jet went into a steep dive and slammed into a hillside in the rugged coastal backcountry of San Luis Obispo County, killing all 43 aboard.

Warner Bros. is adding a second home in Britain by acquiring and expanding the 170-acre Leavesden Studios northwest of London where it shot the eight " Harry Potter" films. The studio's $161.4-million investment in Leavesden was hailed as a boon to Britain's film economy, but is likely to heighten concerns in Los Angeles about the continued exodus of feature production to other countries. Having a permanent film base at Leavesden will give the Burbank studio additional incentive to shoot more in Britain, which offers a film tax credit of up to 25% on qualified production spending.

A self-avowed master of mind control and author of 13 popular books on "neurolinguistic programming" is on trial here for allegedly shooting a prostitute. Richard Bandler, 37, faces charges of murder in Santa Cruz County Municipal Court for allegedly shooting Corine Christensen, 31, in the head Nov. 3, 1986. "It's got lots of drugs, lots of bizarre sex and lots of violence," said Assistant Dist. Atty. Gary Fry about the trial, which has captured the imagination of this seaside tourist city.

A college basketball player was held as a suspect in a drive-by shooting that killed a member of the Crips street gang on Nov. 16, police said. Officers alleged that Kevin Dewayne Johnson, 19, a forward for Sacramento City College, was one of three Meadowview Bloods gang members who gunned down John Hampton, 19, from a car as he was walking home with a 12-year-old cousin. Johnson, Selvan Griggs and Tyrone Turner, both 19, were held without bail in Sacramento County Jail.

Tulare County sheriff's deputies are investigating the slaying of a Newport Beach woman who was shot to death at a rustic mountain resort her family owns near the redwood spires and granite peaks of the southern Sierra Nevada. Lt. Stan Tollison said Wednesday that Bonnie J. Hood, 46, was fatally wounded in the head with a pistol about 3:20 a.m. Sunday in her cabin at Camp Nelson Lodge on the edge of Sequoia National Forest. Her body was found in a bedroom.

John McKeel Jr., one of 52 Americans held hostage after the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Iran, was gravely wounded Friday in a struggle with an armed robber, authorities said. McKeel, 38, was shot twice in the head in the confrontation. He was rushed to Victor Valley Community Hospital in Victorville, where he was declared brain dead, said Police Sgt. Dave Gundersen. A medical team was on its way to the hospital Friday to remove his organs for transplant, he said.

Four Fresno youth gang members pleaded innocent to murder and 17 other crimes in connection with a violent Labor Day weekend shooting rampage that killed one man and injured nine people. A Juvenile Court referee said he will decide Oct. 2 if two of the gang members, both 16 years old, should be tried as adults. The other two boys, ages 15 and 14, will face charges in Juvenile Court. The names of the suspects have not been released.

A suspect in Wednesday's shooting of a ranger here was arrested Sunday without resistance by the Nevada Highway Patrol near the town of Fallon, authorities said. James Steven Robinson, 39, also wanted in the fatal shooting the same day of his ex-wife's boyfriend in Gardnerville, Nev., was found in a disabled stolen car on U.S. 95 south of Fallon, about 120 miles from where Ranger Kim Aufhauser, 37, was shot. Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt.

An elderly laborer and an accused marijuana grower were sentenced to consecutive life terms in prison for shooting an 8-year-old boy and his father. Luis Lopez Arriaga, 78, opened fire on the two on Oct. 8 to protect a marijuana garden allegedly grown by Silvestre Gonzalez, 39, while William Hunt and his son, Matthew, were walking near the garden. Both were seriously wounded. El Dorado Superior Court Judge Thomas A.

A woman suspected of shooting her new daughter-in-law in the head one day after the victim's wedding was being held Thursday in lieu of $1-million bail. The shooting occurred at a funeral wake Saturday in the remote Shasta County town of Hat Creek. A sheriff's deputy said it was precipitated by the younger woman's refusal to allow her mother-in-law to use a truck belonging to the suspect's son. Yvonne Ann Elmore, 30, is in critical condition, Deputy Dist. Atty. Stew Jankowitz said.

A man shot his wife and three young daughters, then set a fire that blew up their house Thursday night. The bodies of all five were found in the ruins, burned beyond recognition, said Porterville Fire Chief Frank Guyton. Autopsies were to be completed today. The man spread a flammable liquid around the house in this small Tulare County town, then lit it, according to federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms spokeswoman Marti McKee. The house exploded when the fumes ignited.

Galvanized by tragic stories and sobering statistics of gun violence, a coalition of state and local lawmakers pledged Saturday to work for tougher firearms laws throughout California. "We can't do anything about those who we have already lost. But we can save lives, we can prevent injuries," Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Pasadena) told about 100 elected officials, public health experts, community organizers and victims of gun violence.

The crowd gathered for the opening night of "I Got the Hook Up" was so rowdy that a dozen or so moviegoers got up and left, complaining that there was too much beer-swilling, smoking and boisterousness. Then an even more chaotic scenario ensued once the film ended late Wednesday. A handful of youths donned blue masks, and one pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and fired at patrons in the lobby. Eight people were hit, although none were seriously injured.

Jim Waldorf only made it to 11th grade, but there is no disputing his success. He is chief executive of Lorcin Engineering Co., which, despite its name, is a leading maker of the cheap handguns known as Saturday night specials. He has made up to $900,000 per year and has a multimillion-dollar net worth. He has also written a book, "Landing on Your Feet," that is an evangelical appeal to victims of corporate downsizing to pursue the entrepreneurial path.

Fresno State football star Willie Howard Jr. died Wednesday of gunshot wounds suffered in a July 11 disturbance at an apartment in Fresno. Howard, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound defensive end who earned All-Big West Conference honorable mention last season as a junior, was shot twice with a high-powered rifle when he and two other men allegedly forced their way into an apartment and accosted the occupant. Howard, 25, an ex-Marine who formerly played at Pasadena City College, was shot in the leg and back.

Jim Waldorf only made it to 11th grade, but there is no disputing his success. He is chief executive of Lorcin Engineering Co., which, despite its name, is a leading maker of the cheap handguns known as Saturday night specials. He has made up to $900,000 per year and has a multimillion-dollar net worth. He has also written a book, "Landing on Your Feet," that is an evangelical appeal to victims of corporate downsizing to pursue the entrepreneurial path.

A plastics factory inspector who killed two colleagues and wounded four others Thursday apparently began his shooting frenzy because he thought co-workers had mocked his sexual orientation, police said Friday. "I am not gay!" Daniel S. Marsden, 38, yelled during the rampage, police said. Officials said it remains unclear whether other factors caused him to attack his fellow employees.

Acts of violence in the workplace--many committed by disgruntled current or former employees--have been alarmingly frequent over the last decade. Here are incidents of deadly rage in Southern California workplaces: 1997 June 5: Daniel S. Marsden, a quality control inspector who had gotten into an argument, opens fire inside Omni Plastics in Santa Fe Springs, killing two and wounding four other employees. After fleeing, he kills himself. 1996 March 5: Sgt. Jessie A.