Carlos Pierre Zaragoza, a 33-year-old Hispanic man, was a union organizer who had worked for more than three years with the Service Employees International Union, helping to raise the minimum wage for school district workers in Los Angeles. His life was cut short on July 25, 2019, when his younger brother launched a violent, 12-hour shooting spree across the San Fernando Valley.
The rampage began shortly before 2 a.m. inside the family’s apartment in Canoga Park. The gunman, 26-year-old Gerry Dean Zaragoza, opened fire on his family, killing Carlos and their 56-year-old father, Carlos Ignacio Zaragoza. Their mother, Blanca Zaragoza, was shot in the hand but survived her injuries. Both Carlos and his father were pronounced dead at the scene.
About 45 minutes later, Gerry drove to a Shell gas station in North Hollywood, where he shot and killed a 45-year-old acquaintance, Azucena Lepe, and critically wounded a male employee who worked with her.
Hours later, around 7:45 a.m., he returned to Canoga Park and attempted to rob a man outside a Bank of America, but fled when the man had no money. The violence culminated around 1 p.m. on an Orange Line bus in Van Nuys, where Gerry shot and killed 55-year-old Detwonia Harris, a passenger he did not know. Witnesses reported there was no interaction between the two men before the shooting.
The Los Angeles Police Department launched a massive manhunt, circulating Gerry Zaragoza’s photo on social media and putting the San Fernando Valley on a tactical alert. Around 2:30 p.m., officers from a joint LAPD and FBI fugitive task force spotted Gerry walking on Canoga Avenue. He refused commands to surrender, and officers used a Taser to subdue and arrest him.
On July 29, 2019, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Gerry Zaragoza with four counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of attempted robbery, with a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.
In August 2023, Gerry Dean Zaragoza pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of attempted robbery. On September 7, 2023, a judge sentenced him to 127 years to life in state prison, bringing the case to a close.
