Homeless man arrested for Santa Monica California shooting spree as transients terrorize Los Angeles area
Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2025 11:09 pm
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SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - The homeless man accused of a shooting spree in Santa Monica has been charged with three counts of attempted murder amid a wave of violence from transients that has Los Angeles residents on edge.
David John Hairston II, 31, allegedly ambushed and shot a police officer at a pedestrian mall in the seaside enclave on Wednesday, just days after allegedly shooting two teens who were riding a self-driving taxi, according to prosecutors.
Hairston was arrested after a citywide manhunt; he faces various weapons charges on top of the attempted murders, with a maximum sentence of 104 years to life in prison, the LA District Attorney’s office said.
The shooting is one of several chilling acts of violence by transients in the city, including another violent attack and fires lit in an apartment building overrun with squatters.
The day after the Santa Monica shooting, a transient man jumped a gardener working outside at a gated home in nearby Brentwood, one of the wealthiest parts of Los Angeles.
The shirtless suspect randomly approached the gardener and knocked him in the head with some kind of pole, according to Ring camera footage obtained by ABC7.
Meanwhile, residents in the Beverly Grove neighborhood, near Beverly Hills, were complaining about an abandoned apartment complex that had been recently taken over by around 20 vagrants.
“It’s been absolutely terrifying. We are on hold with our lives right now until this is resolved,” Anita Cavallo, a woman who lives in the Beverly Grove area, told ABC7.
One of the squatters has repeatedly started fires in the building, forcing locals to extinguish the flames themselves.
Locals said their complaints to officials have fallen on deaf ears.
“It feels like no one has proper answers for us. Everyone just blames someone else and tells us [there’s] nothing they can do, so we don’t know where to go anymore for help,” Cavallo told the outlet.
In May, Gov. Gavin Newsom called on cities to ban homeless encampments on public property, including sidewalks and parks.
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