Ex-Employee Kills Newsstand Owner, Himself

A disgruntled former employee shot and killed the owner of a Wilshire-area newsstand this morning and then wounded another stand employee before shooting himself to death, police said.

Detective Richard Fox said the shooting at the A-P Newsstand on Vermont Avenue near Wilshire Boulevard apparently grew out of a long-running feud between the ex-employee and his former boss.

The 39-year-old gunman, who was not identified, approached the newsstand at about 7:30 a.m. and fired four or five rounds into the area, Fox said.

Dead on Sidewalk

He then shot himself. Police found him dead on the sidewalk near the stand.

The owner of the stand, a 37-year-old man whose name was not released pending notification of his relatives, was shot in the head. He died a few hours later at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Hospital.

Another man working at the newsstand was shot in the hand. He was reported in stable condition.

Fox said the gunman had worked at the stand until about six months ago. He had been quarreling with his former boss since then, but detectives had not determined the exact nature of the argument.