Another person lost his life in connection with an armed robbery of a cannabis dispensary.
Los Angeles Police Department authorities are searching for two suspects after a man was shot and killed inside a retail facility around 12:30 p.m. April 30 in the Tarzana neighborhood, the Los Angeles Times reported.
While some media reports said the shooting happened during the dispensary robbery, LAPD spokesperson Jeff Lee said Sunday that he knew of no official motive, according to the news outlet.
Meanwhile, cannabis industry stakeholders continue to point to the absence of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act following dispensary robberies.
“We are saddened, and outraged, to read about another fatal shooting at a cannabis dispensary,” the U.S. Cannabis Council wrote on social media Sunday. “Requiring dispensaries to conduct business largely in cash has put employees and operators in the crosshairs of criminals. We are seeing a steadily rising human toll from lack of banking access. We urgently need to take cash out of the equation. We need SAFE Banking now!”
Saturday’s deadly incident came less than a week after Oakland’s Oakanna dispensary owner Joshua Chase was shot in the foot after a group of burglars tripped an alarm just before 4:30 a.m. at his new retail facility.
In particular, Oakland was a hotbed for armed robbers targeting cannabis businesses during a spree of criminal activity in December.
RELATED: Bay Area Cannabis Mayhem: 175 Shots Fired, Products Worth Millions Stolen
But California isn’t the only state where criminals are targeting cannabis businesses.
In Washington, there were three fatal incidents involving a dispensary robbery in less than a week in March in the western part of the state. One of those incidents resulted in the fatal shooting of 29-year-old dispensary worker Jordan Brown, from Gig Harbor.
Los Angeles police did not immediately identify the victim who was killed Saturday, but Tarzana resident Maria Harris told KTLA News the victim was her 28-year-old son, Brian Garcia, who was a regular customer of the dispensary.
“My son had a good heart. He was a good kid,” she told the news outlet. “He really was. That was my firstborn baby. I don’t understand why God took him from me. I don’t know what I’m going to do next. I’m really broken in pieces, and I’m lost right now. I can’t even think straight.
