(Reuters) - Los Angeles police have arrested an undisclosed number of people in connection with a deadly 1993 apartment fire that killed seven children as well as several adults, authorities said on Saturday.
The fire in the heavily Latino Westlake District shocked the city with its devastation and dominated the headlines for weeks. The blaze prompted calls for stronger safety protections and fire inspections, and triggered a criminal investigation that resulted in arrests 24 years after it began.
The LAPD declined to release any further details of the arrests, saying that authorities would provide more information at a news conference planned in Los Angeles for Monday.
The Los Angeles Times reported that officials believe the blaze was started by gang members over control of narcotics sales in the neighborhood.
Citing multiple anonymous law enforcement sources, the newspaper reported that police have arrested three suspects, all with ties to a local gang. A fourth suspect is still at large, the newspaper reported.
Including the children, 10 people died in the fire, the newspaper reported, including two pregnant women.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; editing by Diane Craft)