"Boy, 13, 'Played Dead' After Gunman Shot 5 in His Family" by Richard Winton, Ruben Vives, and Wesley Lowrey

In the Los Angeles Times there was an article about a thirteen year old boy who played dead after a gunman shot him and four members of his family. The boy is now recovering from the shooting, and a family friend told officers that the boy played dead, and so the gunman thought he shot everyone. According to the Downey Police Department, they arrested Jade Douglas Harris, 30, for manslaughter and murder, he is being held in Men's Central Jail and the bail is one million dollars. Harris was booked Friday after being taken into custody and questioned the day before. The police say he matches the gunman's description. Even with Harris being booked, Police do not know the motive for the shootings, relatives of the family stated that it was like a violent car robbery. A family friend stated that Harris responded to an ad for a Camaro, when he arrived at the family business, the United States Fire Protection Services, he was allowed in through the front door which is usually locked. When he entered, he took out a handgun and demanded the car, he forced a male worker to tie up two women. One of the women was the mother of the firm's owners, Robert and Antonio Salinas. The gunman was told by an employee that the car was not at the business but at the family home down the street. Then Susana Perez, another family member walked into the store with her thirteen year old son, whom she had picked up early from school for a dental appointment. Harris shot and killed two employees, Josimar Rojas, 26, of Downey and Irene Cardenas, 35, of Cudahy. A member of the Salinas family, Maria Fuentes, 52, was shot in the face and hand and is in serious medical condition, and hospitalized. Perez and her son, were demanded to take the gunman to the family home where the car was said to be. At the home Harris put a gun to the boy's head, and when the mother tried helping her son, she was shot and killed. Before leaving with the Camaro the gunman shot the boy, who pretended to be dead. An attorney for the family, Mr. Bartoumian, at a press conference on Friday said that the family has not been able to fully recover, grieve, and they are in shock. The little boy was smart to pretend to be dead which made the gunman leave him alone, that decision saved his life. It is truly sad what happened to those five people, may their souls rest in peace.