Downey, CA—Five people were shot, two fatally, after a Downey family received a response to and ad they placed on Craigslist in attempt to sell their Chevy Camaro.
Gunman Jade Douglas Harris is a known member of the Rollin 40s Crips and was placed on parole just this past summer after serving time for second-degree robbery. He was previously detained for carrying a firearm in a car and making criminal threats.
Harris responded to the ad and opened fire on the family in a chain of events that still remains unclear to authorities. The shootings began when Harris responded to the ad and agreed to meet at the United States Fire Protection family business on Celta Street. At the business he allegedly forced a male worker, Josimar Rojas, to bind up two women. He then shot and killed Rojas and Irene Cardena Reyes, another employee. Maria Fuentes, the mother of the business owner, was shot in the face and hands but survived the shooting spree.
Susana Perez Ruelas, wife of the business owner, walked in with her 13-year-old son at some point during the debacle. After shooting the other victims, Harris forced Ruelas to drive he and her son a few blocks to the residence at which the Camaro was parked. When they arrived at the home he shot and killed Ruelas while she was trying to save her son. The boy was shot in the shoulder, then pretended to be dead until Harris left.
Harris left his vehicle at the first crime scene. Upon discovering that his car was gone when he returned to the scene, Harris called police to report his stolen vehicle. Police told him that they had recovered his vehicle and that he could get it back from them. Harris was arrested as the prime suspect when he arrived to retrieve his car.
Harris will face 14 charges: three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of kidnapping for carjacking, three carjacking counts, two kidnapping counts and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. Harris could face the death penalty if convicted of these charges.
