“Serial slingshot shooter”, 81, arrested in California

A Southern California man described by police as a “serial slingshot shooter” has been arrested after allegedly victimizing his neighbors for about a decade.

Azusa police said they learned after responding to a “quality of life issue” in the 900 block of North Enid Avenue that over the past 9 to 10 years, “dozens of citizens have been victims of a serial slingshot. “

The suspect, Prince King, smashed windows and windshields with his gun and at times nearly hit people, police said. Inmate records indicate King is 81 years old. They did not list an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Police served a search warrant in the neighborhood where the slingshot attacks were taking place Thursday and eventually arrested King. Police said ball bearings and a slingshot were found at his home.

Azusa Police Lt. Jake Bushey told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that police began investigating after the first slingshot incident, but have not been able to identify a suspect until now. Bushey said Saturday that he wasn't sure how King was ultimately identified, but that detectives learned that most of the ball bearings came from King's backyard or a “nearby neighborhood.”

Police have not identified a motive “other than simple malicious mischief,” Bushey said, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

But Bushey added that King's shootings were not random, although he did not know why certain people or properties were targets, the newspaper reported.

Some commenters on the police department's Facebook post said their car windows were blown out, but couldn't be sure King was the culprit in those cases.

King's next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.