Machete-Wielding Man Fatally Injures Friend, Then Kills Self

SYLMAR — A man repeatedly slashed his longtime friend with a machete Tuesday before he shot him several times and then turned the gun on himself, Los Angeles police said.

John Young, 44, of Sylmar was rushed to Holy Cross Medical Center with lacerations and gunshot wounds all over his body. He was pronounced dead about an hour after the attack, authorities said.

His attacker, whose identity has not been released pending notification of his relatives, was pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics.

The incident started about noon when Young and the unidentified man began arguing in Young’s house in the 15200 block of La Valle Street, said Detective Frank Bishop, who is investigating the case.

It is unclear what the argument was about or where the machete came from, Bishop said, but he said that at some point during the confrontation the unidentified man took the machete and slashed Young several times.

As Young lay wounded in a bedroom of the house, the man police described as “a longtime friend” apparently left the house to retrieve a pistol, then returned and shot Young several times.

Young’s adult daughter had discovered her father bleeding and was telephoning police when the man returned and began shooting, Bishop said.

Police did not know whether Young died from the machete wounds or gunshots.

After the attack, the man went into the living room of the house, where he fatally shot himself, Bishop said.