Authorities have arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with the murder of the eldest sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, the Los Angeles County sheriff's office announced early on Monday.

Yetunde Price (31) was shot dead in Compton, an area known for gang violence about 20 miles south of Los Angeles, LA Sheriff's Deputy Bill Spear said.

Aaron Michael Hammer was being held without bail at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Los Angeles County, he said.

Details of the arrest, the specific charges against Hammer or his relationship with the victim were not revealed.