<modsnipped>
This is not a very accurate perception of the Santa Monica Mountains. Mountain lions are few and far between; attacks are exceedingly rare. I never saw one in the 20 years I lived at the base of the mountains. I did see deer, coyotes, bobcats, grey fox, rattlesnakes, tarantulas and scorpions. I hiked, camped, rode horses all over the Santa Monicas for 20 years, many of those excursions being solo excursions. IMO, it's a relatively safe area for this in terms of potential wildlife encounters. You don't worry about mountain lions.
The incidents attributed to this individual started in 2016 and continued to the present. Not sure if this would meet the definition of 'quickly'.
<modsnipped> I'm sure it must feel different being right there. Much more immediate and terrifying. I have the benefit of some distance being an Orange County resident but I've lived here my whole life and have enjoyed hiking all over SoCal for decades.
Mountain lion attacks indeed are rare. But few spend hours traipsing around their terriritory, alone, at night, during mountain lion feeding times. And few in California would.
It has been a very short time from the time they discovered an
armed burglar was burglarizing buildings in the same area that there have been several shootings. In fact, it's been mere days (10-4-18).
Since the time TB was shot and killed the investigation has been intense, whether us armchair investigators believe so or not, and in comparison with other cases of random shooters, which
@margarita25 can tell you can take years and years to solve, it looks like they've made excellent progress.
I'm sure there's a lot of political feeling. But this is not just the Lost Hills substation. This has been an investigation involving several agencies.
The Lost Hills Substation linked recent burglaries that have occurred in the last three months, to one person. That's pretty impressive.
Then, after the burglary on 10-4-18 in which the burglar was seen in surveillance armed with a rifle, the Major Crimes Bureau, Metro Detail, took over the case.
They began a concerted search for evidence and for the suspect, with personnel from their bureau, from the Lost Hills station, from the LASD Aero Bureau and Malibu Search and Rescue. And he was found and arrested within just seven days of the initial investigation into the 10-4-18 burglary in which it was determined he was armed.
They now state that similar burglaries within the last two years MAY be linked.
And of course he may be linked to the killing of TB and other random shootings in the area in the last couple years.
I find this to be very solid, praiseworthy work. <modsnipped>
This is great stuff, IMO. And I think the chances of this leading to something much bigger are excellent.
To me it looks like there was a crazy, armed, criminal living in the park whose behavior has escalated over the years, and likely culminated in murder.
