Two Charged with 'Disturbingly Brutal and Callous' Shooting of Homeless Double Amputee in LA

"We will hold those responsible accountable for this unthinkable crime," Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said

Two people were charged with murder in connection to the May 17 shooting death of a 69-year-old homeless man whom police described as a double amputee in Los Angeles.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced in a news release that Ruby Salazar and Raymundo Hernandez were each charged with one count of murder.

Salazar, 37, was also charged with one count of attempted murder and two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, with a complaint that "includes special allegations of use of a firearm, infliction of great bodily injury and use of a firearm during a specified offense," according to the release.

"The murder of this victim – who was unhoused and a double amputee asleep in his wheelchair – is disturbingly brutal and callous," District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. "I thank members of my Community Violence Reduction Division for their work in this case. We will hold those responsible accountable for this unthinkable crime."

Both Salazar and Hernandez, 34, were arraigned on Thursday, according to the release. The pair are accused of shooting and killing Gerold Lipeles, who ABC7 identified as a military veteran, while he slept in his wheelchair outside of a McDonald's on West Century Boulevard in South Los Angeles, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release issued Thursday.

Prosecutors allege that Salazar approached the man and shot him in the head, according to the Associated Press. Lipeles, 69, died in a hospital five days after the shooting, according to the AP.

3 arrests made in shooting death of elderly man in wheelchair in South LA
Fox 11 Los Angeles

Salazar was already in custody on an unrelated charge, according to the LAPD's news release. Salazar's attempted murder charge stems from an allegation that she approached 67-year-old Stella Polly at a bus stop four days after Lipeles' shooting and shot Polly in the back after a short conversation, according to the release.

Another man, 32-year-old Blas Canche, was arrested Tuesday, but he was not charged with a crime, pending further investigation, according to the statement and AP.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Friday.

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