“Serial slingshot” suspect who terrorized California neighborhood arrested | California

An 81-year-old man who investigators say terrorized a Southern California neighborhood for years with a slingshot has been arrested, police said.

During their investigation, detectives “learned that over the past 9 to 10 years, dozens of citizens have been victims of serial slingshots,” Asuza police said in a statement.

The man is suspected of breaking car windows and windshields and narrowly missing people with ball bearings fired from a slingshot, the statement said. No injuries were reported.

The man was arrested Thursday after officers executed a search warrant and found a slingshot and ball bearings at his home in Asuza, about 25 miles east of Los Angeles, police said.

Azusa Police Lt. Jake Bushey said Saturday that detectives learned that most of the ball bearings were fired from the suspect’s backyard.

“We are not aware of any motive other than simple malicious mischief,” Bushey told the Southern California News Group.

The man was due to appear in court on Tuesday.