No evidence of mass shooting plan after weapons seized from L.A. high-rise

Los Angeles — Police connected Thursday said location isn't immoderate grounds that a wide shooting was planned by a man who stockpiled guns and ammunition successful his Hollywood high-rise apartment.

Braxton Johnson was taken into custody Tuesday aft he allegedly made convulsive threats to information unit astatine nan flat building and group outside, constabulary said.

Police said a hunt of Johnson's flat connected nan 18th level recovered 2 battle rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines, each of which are forbidden successful California, arsenic good arsenic 3 semiautomatic pistols, a sniper rifle, a shotgun and much than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

Several rifles were pointed from windows toward a adjacent park, nan LAPD had said. Police didn't place nan park, but online maps show a canine parkland adjacent to nan flat complex.

Officers had said nan parkland is beneath nan apartment, CBS Los Angeles reported.

At a news convention Wednesday, constabulary Lt. Leonid Tsap had said location was a "high chance" that officers, on pinch building information unit and witnesses who grabbed Johnson, had "prevented a wide shooting."

But constabulary backtracked successful a connection Thursday.

"At this constituent of nan investigation, location are nary indications that immoderate persons were threatened pinch a firearm nor person we identified immoderate intent by Johnson to scheme a wide shooting incident," nan connection said. "We are moving pinch our national partners to exhaust each investigative leads and judge location is nary threat to nan public."

Police besides said they'd talked to Johnson's family "to supply immoderate support services needed."

Johnson, 25, pleaded not blameworthy Thursday to 2 counts of possession of an battle weapon, 1 count of criminal threats and 1 count of inducement of murder. He was jailed connected $500,000 bail, but a judge connected Thursday raised his bail to much than $1 million.

During that tribunal appearance, detectives said they recovered caller "items" successful nan suspect's flat but didn't specify what nan "items" were, according to CBS L.A..  

Details astir nan threats authorities said he made Tuesday haven't been released.

The apartment's guidance institution referred media inquiries to police.

But CBS L.A. says a number of tenants successful nan building had reported having uncomfortable run-ins pinch Johnson, and they each said he made bizarre and threatening comments.

One resident of nan building, who did not want to beryllium identified, said nan fishy made threatening comments to him earlier successful nan week, including references to a opus astir a wide shooting.

"He kept talking astir wide shootings, and past astatine 1 constituent he asked me, 'I wonderment really galore group I tin snipe done my floor,' and he lives connected nan 18th floor, truthful successful my head, I'm for illustration 'Oh my God, is he for illustration readying connected shooting us, aliases readying connected shooting group astatine nan park?'" said nan man. "And past he benignant of for illustration took 2 steps backmost and made a remark like, 'If I was nan police, I would commencement my investigation correct here.'"

Police opportunity officers seized 2 battle rifles, a sniper rifle, 1 shotgun, 3 pistols and much than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from Braxton Johnson's apartment. Los Angeles Police Department

A 2nd resident, who besides wished to stay anonymous, said they were astatine a statement pinch nan fishy connected Friday nighttime and took statement of his bizarre behavior, which included gifting a female resident successful nan building a weapon arsenic a present.

"He was having really weird conversations pinch group and a batch of group started to consciousness uncomfortable," nan resident said. "Then, he came up to maine and showed maine his gun, and he said, 'Hey, perceive I'm a information guard. It's OK.' He was benignant of showing off."

Another tenant said he ran into Johnson astatine nan parkland earlier this week.

He made a small remark about, "'nice to meet your dogs. I dream I don't extremity up sniping them,' and that really triggered my anxiety," nan tenant said.

Management astatine nan flat building sent an email to residents advising them to enactment successful their apartments, CBS L.A. added.

Another resident said she called galore neighbors because nan fishy was roaming nan halls. She besides said she started proceeding astir nan man making threats successful early January.   

The cache of guns and their setup successful nan high-rise flat were reminiscent of a 2017 massacre successful Las Vegas, wherever nan gunman fired 1,057 bullets from nan 32nd level of nan Mandalay Bay edifice successful nan deadliest wide shooting successful modern U.S. history. He killed 58 group beneath nan edifice who were enjoying an outdoor state euphony show connected nan Vegas Strip. Authorities later attributed nan deaths of 2 much people, some of whom had been severely wounded, to nan performance shooting.

Officers answered a study of a imaginable intelligence wellness business Tuesday greeting and went to nan building connected Gordon Street astatine Sunset Boulevard, an LAPD connection said.

Johnson, who was surviving unsocial and was unarmed erstwhile he was taken into custody but nan weapons seized had "the expertise to inflict a batch of harm to a batch of people," Tsap said.

Johnson had precocious moved into nan apartment. He already was nether investigation successful a authorities connected nan East Coast for a convulsive crime, constabulary said. They didn't instantly stock different details.