'Quality of life issue' leads to arrest of 81-year-old 'serial slingshot shooter' in Southern California: police

A man described by police as a “serial slingshot shooter” has been arrested after an investigation revealed he had been shooting people for almost a decade.

According to a social media post from the Azusa Police Department, officers with their Direct Enforcement Unit (DEU) learned Friday that a “quality of life issue” was occurring in the 900 block of North Enid Ave. The exact time of the incident was not immediately released.

“The DEU conducted an extensive investigation and learned that over the past nine to ten years, dozens of citizens have been victims of serial slingshots,” the department’s Instagram post reads. “The unknown suspect broke windows, windshields and almost hit people with ball bearings.”

After obtaining a search warrant for a house in the neighborhood where the incidents took place, authorities arrested the Prince King of Azusa. During the search, ball bearings and a slingshot were recovered from King's residence, law enforcement said.

Inmate records indicate King, 81, has been charged with a felony and is being held at Men's Central Jail without bond.

Several people were quick to comment on the police post, saying King had previously shot their dog with ball bearings and that it appeared to be “basically running away from unwanted squatters.”