Following a SWAT operation on Wednesday night, a 57-year-old man was arrested inside a Buena Park psychic business in connection with a previous deadly assault. According to NBC Los Angeles, the suspect, identified as Barney Lee, is believed to have been living in the commercial space located on La Palma Avenue, just steps away from where the assault occurred.
The incident took the life of 29-year-old Elton Harrell near Knott's Berry Farm on December 29. Friends and family of Harrell recounted to NBC Los Angeles that he had been homeless, living in a nearby parking lot, and struggled with mental illness. "He loved being here so much. This is always where we will come to see him now," Cindy Salazar, a friend of Harrell's, stated in a NBC Los Angeles interview.
Harrell's mother, Barbara Campbell, told NBC Los Angeles, "Everyone loved my son, he was a good guy," adding that her son "never hurt anybody, never bothered anybody." Campbell revealed she used to bring blankets and clothes to her son daily, as long as he did not disappear. The motive behind the attack remains unclear, and it has not been confirmed whether Lee knew Harrell prior to the assault.
In an official Facebook post by the Buena Park Police Department, Lee was identified as the suspect after Detective Kalagian and the Special Weapons and Tactics team served a search warrant at the Park Psychic business. A woman was also detained but later released at the scene, while Lee was booked on a homicide charge. The authorities indicated that this appeared to be an isolated incident and urged anyone with information to come forward.
Amidst the search for answers and the grief of Harrell's loved ones, the circumstances of the assault and the connection between the suspect and the business where he was found remain part of an ongoing investigation. "We’re never going to be the same. I want to know why someone would take my son’s life like he was nothing. He was something and somebody, and we loved him. He was somebody to us," Campbell expressed, as she grapples with the loss of her son.
