Los Angeles police arrested a 35-year-old man Friday after they say he opened fire with a CO2-style handgun during a street dispute in Tarzana, just outside a home tied to singer Chris Brown. The suspect, identified as Markeith Cungious, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and is being held on $50,000 bail, according to authorities. Investigators emphasized that the shots were fired in the street, not on private property.
What police say
According to NBC Los Angeles, officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded just after 4 p.m. following reports of a dispute between two people. Investigators later determined that one person allegedly fired a CO2-style handgun at the other during the confrontation. Police have not said whether the person targeted in the incident needed medical treatment. Detectives from the LAPD's West Valley division are handling the case, and Cungious was publicly identified as the suspect.
Accounts from the scene
TMZ, which first reported the confrontation, says a woman called police and told them a man had fired at her vehicle outside what the outlet identified as Chris Brown's Tarzana home. The outlet reports that the man later told officers the woman had driven over his foot during the clash. According to TMZ, officers interviewed both people at the scene before taking the man into custody, and the outlet also posted what it described as related dispatch audio reviewed by its newsroom.
Booking and charges
Local reports say Cungious was booked into the Valley Jail, with bail set at $50,000, per Patch. Entertainment Weekly's coverage, as republished by AOL, notes that the weapon involved was described as a CO2-style air pistol rather than a traditional firearm. Investigators are treating the case as an assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm. It was not immediately clear whether Cungious has retained an attorney or has someone speaking on his behalf.
Valley context
The incident lands amid a run of high-profile disputes in the San Fernando Valley that have ended in gunfire in recent months, including a February car-to-car shooting and an April house-party shooting. Hoodline previously covered a Tarzana car-to-car shooting that prompted a police manhunt, and residents say the steady drumbeat of violence has left many neighbors on edge.
What happens next
Detectives are asking anyone who witnessed the confrontation or has video of the incident to contact the LAPD West Valley station as the investigation continues, according to NBC Los Angeles. This story will be updated as police release more details.
