LOS ANGELES – The Latest on a fire that killed five people in an abandoned building in Los Angeles (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
Los Angeles police say a homeless man has been arrested on suspicion of murder for intentionally starting a fire that left five people dead in an abandoned building.
Billy Hayes, commanding officer of LAPD Robbery-Homicide, said Tuesday that 21-year-old Johnny Sanchez was among a group of homeless people who had been living in the building and was in a dispute with the others.
Hayes said Sanchez set the fire with the intent of killing at least one person.
One body was found during the fire on Monday night. Four more people were found dead in the ashes of the former acupuncture clinic on Tuesday.
Hayes said police would seek additional charges involving the newly discovered deaths.
___
4 p.m.
Authorities say the death toll has risen to five people a day after a fire in an abandoned two-story office building near downtown Los Angeles.
One man was declared dead at the scene while the blaze was burning Monday night.
A city fire statement says two men and two women were found Tuesday as firefighters searched the burned-out building.
The Fire Department says all five victims appeared to be homeless.
Police also say they took a suspected arsonist into custody.
It took nearly 150 firefighters more than two hours to extinguish the fire. Three people were rescued.
The building was officially vacant, but neighbors say they saw homeless people coming and going.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
