81-year-old “serial slingshot shooter” arrested in California

A Southern California man described by police as a “serial slingshot shooter” was arrested after allegedly harassing 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 “dozens of citizens have been victims of a serial slingshot shooter” over the past nine to 10 years.

The suspect, Prince King, used his weapon to smash windows and windshields and at times nearly hit people, police said. Inmate records show that King is 81 years old. An attorney who could comment on his behalf was not named.

Police served a search warrant on Thursday in the neighborhood where the slingshot attacks occurred and eventually arrested King. Police said ball bearings and a slingshot were found in 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 yet been able to locate a suspect. Bushey said Saturday he was not sure how King was ultimately identified, but investigators have determined that most of the ball bearings came from King’s backyard or “a nearby neighborhood.”

Police found no motive other than “malicious damage to property,” Bushey said, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Bushey added, however, that King did not shoot at him randomly, although he did not know why certain people or property were targeted, the newspaper reported.

Some commenters on the police Facebook post said they had had their windows shot out, but they could not be sure if King was the perpetrator in those cases.

King’s next court date is scheduled for Tuesday.