Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

EL MONTE - It took 25 firefighters under one hour to knock down a massive fire in an El Monte strip mall Saturday morning that was affected by fire previously.

The fire burned in a strip mall at 10113 E. Valley Blvd. around 1:32 a.m. July 25. Firefighters could only knock down flames from the outside due to structural integrity issues caused by the previous fire, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

While the Los Angeles County Fire Department said that the structure was affected by a fire one month prior, there were at least two major fires that burned in the last two months alone to the same location for structure fires.

A portion of the same strip mall burned July 20. No victims were found.

This same strip mall originally burned May 14. A third-alarm response was called after fire in the attic portion of the strip mall caused extensive damage throughout the structure.

The cause is under investigation.

EL MONTE – A man was shot in town early Friday and later died at a hospital, Sheriff’s homicide investigators said.

A victim was shot in the 3400 block of Durfee Avenue around 3:08 a.m. July 24, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

A suspect description is either unknown, or has not been shared publicly.

Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or at lacrimestoppers.org.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

EL MONTE - Authorities are searching for the suspect or suspects involved in a stabbing that took the life of a man early Sunday.

The stabbing occurred in the 10000 block of Garvey Avenue just before 12:30 a.m. July 5, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatches.

The 68-year-old man was taken to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

No other information is available.

Anyone with information on the stabbing is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3 Tips mobile app, or through lacrimestoppers.org.