Man Arrested in Fatal Hammer Attack of Co-Worker

The attack happened Thursday afternoon at a construction site

A man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder after he allegedly used a hammer to kill a co-worker at a Silver Lake apartment complex construction site, police said.

It happened about 1:45 p.m. in the 4200 block of Burns Avenue, police said.

The two were doing construction work at the site before the attack, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

"The suspect, who is a co-worker, picked up a hammer and hit the victim in the head with a hammer," LAPD Lt. Joe Losorelli said.

The suspect, 21-year-old Christian Valdez, allegedly fled the scene, but eventually was located by investigators and arrested in Pico Union. The victim, 20-year-old Luis Sanchez, died at a hospital.

Witnesses recalled hearing screams. One woman said Valdez tried to get into her car.

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"He had blood on his arm. I said maybe he has a scratch, I don't know," witness Julia Hernandez said. "I didn't know what was going on."

Beverly White contributed to this report.

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