A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office told the network "We determined that the suspect and victim had dated the same girl back-and-forth for over a year. There had been threats, and the victim sent several threatening messages to the suspect. Apparently, there was some mutual combat and Lovato attempted to separate himself from the victim when the victim challenged him to a fight.

The victim followed Lovato to an isolated spot in the underground garage and tried to fight him. Lovato defended himself, and there was insufficient evidence to show that it was not a justifiable use of reasonable force in self-defense." - more on this story