Man held in double shootings

A 24-year-old Panorama City man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of fatally shooting his ex-brother-in-law and an unrelated apartment manager before dawn, police said.

Tu Luong Hua was arrested after allegedly gunning down two 61-year-old men about a mile apart in Panorama City, according to LAPD Detective Mike Oppelt of Devonshire Division.

The apartment manager was shot numerous times in the upper body sometime before 4:50 a.m. in the parking lot behind a two-story complex at 8790 Van Nuys Blvd., police said.

”Some kid came over and knocked on his window at about 4 this morning,” said Tom, a neighbor who lived across the hall who asked his last name be withheld. Five shots ”echo right through the building.”

The neighbor said he called police after he found the manager lying face down, his wallet near his head, an assault rifle lying nearby.

The manager was a native Greek known by neighbors to take kids camping and help them with their computers.

”He was a great guy,” said Tom. ”The problem was, he was too good.”

While investigating the death of the manager, police got a call on a second shooting in the 14600 block of Novice Street.

Police said a man standing outside the home directed them to a second victim, Hua’s ex-brother-in-law, lying dead with multiple gunshot wounds inside the home they both shared.

Oppelt said it appeared that Hua had unspecified disputes with both victims, and that police had recovered a rifle believed to have been used to shoot both men.

Hua was being held without bail at Van Nuys Jail. Names of the victims were withheld pending notification of relatives.

Staff Writer Ben Jauron contributed to this story.