Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct a misspelled name.
Police have arrested a man accused of fatally shooting a security guard during a dispute outside an off-campus USC housing complex in the Historic South-Central neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday morning.
The shooting happened shortly before 1 a.m. outside the apartment building near the intersection of West 23rd and Flower streets, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Ryan Rabbett said.
Officers arrived to find the victim down on a sidewalk in front of The Lorenzo, which is described as an “exclusive off-campus housing sponsor of USC athletes” on its website.
The unidentified victim is believed to be in his 30s or 40s.
“The victim, who is a security guard at the location, was involved in some type of dispute with a suspect,” Rabbett said.
Police later confirmed that the security guard was attempting escort the suspect from the building’s lobby before the violence erupted.
“Our victim was struck and ultimately collapsed here on the sidewalk,” said Rabbett, who added that the security guard did not appear to be armed.
While police were on scene investigating, they received a report of a man matching the suspect’s description sleeping in a nearby parking structure. The man was apparently armed with a gun and was detained as part of the ongoing investigation.
Authorities reviewed security footage from the scene and were able to confirm that the man detained was the same man seen in the surveillance video. The also confirmed that the gun he was in possession of was the same caliber as the one used in the deadly shooting.
He was arrested and booked into jail where he awaits chargers for murder. He’s been identified as 31-year-old Alexader Crawford.
Investigators do not believe Crawford lived in the apartment building.
Anyone with further information was asked to call the LAPD Homicide Bureau at 213-486-8700.