In brief: Sunset Boulevard shooter identified

Los Angeles – Authorities on Saturday identified the gunman who was shot and killed by police after he fired at passing cars on a Hollywood street, critically wounding one driver while screaming that he wanted to die. He was identified by the Los Angeles County coronor’s office as 26-year-old Tyler Brehm.

Brehm walked down the middle of Sunset Boulevard on Friday, firing on motorists with no clear target until police shot him, authorities said.

In amateur video taken at the scene, the gunman paced back and forth near the busy intersection with Vine Street, firing close to 20 rounds from what appeared to be a .40-caliber handgun, police said.

“He was screaming he was going to die and that he wanted to die,” Gregory Bojorquez, a photographer who captured images of the shooting’s aftermath, told the Los Angeles Times.

Investigators were trying to determine a motive for the attack.

Wreath tradition grows to 20 years

Arlington, Va. – Volunteers have laid tens of thousands of holiday wreaths at tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage joined thousands of volunteers Saturday in placing the wreaths. A convoy of more than 20 trucks left Maine Dec. 4, bound for the cemetery across from the nation’s capital. The tradition began 20 years ago.

Since then, it has grown into an organization called Wreaths Across America with ceremonies across the country. Organizers said 15,000 people joined the effort at Arlington.

Boy’s disciplinarian faces charges

San Bernardino, Calif. – A man who allegedly struck a 15-year-old Irvine, Calif., boy with a metal pole after the boy’s parents asked him to discipline the youth on their behalf has been booked on suspicion of felony willful cruelty to a child, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

According to investigators, the parents found a lighter in the boy’s possession and suspected that he was smoking. The boy was taken to the home of Paul Kim, 39, of Chino Hills, who attended the same La Habra church the family attended. Authorities said other families had used Kim to discipline their children.

Kim reportedly questioned the boy about the lighter and suspected that the teen was lying to him. “After receiving permission from the victim’s father to use corporal punishment, Kim struck the child approximately 12 times with a metal pole, which was about 1 inch in diameter, on the back of the legs, causing injuries,” the department said Saturday in a prepared statement.

Authorities were notified Tuesday when a school official in Irvine noticed that the boy had severe bruising on the backs of his legs.