An investigation is underway following the shooting of five people outside a South Los Angeles corner store on Tuesday afternoon. Investigators believe the incident is gang-related.
Around 2:30 p.m., Los Angeles police were called to the scene outside Seven Market on Figueroa Street and Manchester Avenue.
“At about 2:30 this afternoon, our officers received a radio call of a shooting here at 8501 South Figueroa. When they arrived, they were able to confirm that we did have five victims of a shooting at this time, and they are being treated as we speak,” said Capt. Michael Bland with LAPD. “At this time, all of this is preliminary, we do have casings here at the scene, but we’re walking the neighborhood, looking for video to confirm exactly what happened. And as you can see behind us, our officers and our investigators are at the scene working through this as we speak.”
An AIR7 video from above the scene shows police tape, debris, and evidence markers outside the corner store.
Initially, authorities reported that one of the victims had died. In a later update, the LAPD stated that the victim is still alive and in “extremely critical condition.” Police said a second person is in critical condition. The LAPD withheld information about the conditions of the other three hospitalized victims.
According to LAPD, the victims are four men and one woman aged 19 to 35.
Police claimed three male suspects wearing hoodies fled the scene in a white Honda Civic.
According to the LAPD, a preliminary investigation revealed that many vehicles departed the site. Investigators suspect there were two or three shooters, but they’re not sure who was in which vehicle.
Police believe the same suspects were involved in another shooting just minutes later, a few blocks away. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated that one of its deputies was conducting a traffic stop when a passing car opened fire on him. Thankfully, the deputy was not injured.
“It’s an ongoing investigation. Our investigators are here. Our detectives are here. We continue to scour the location for video, for additional witnesses, for additional evidence. We will continue investigating this investigation with whatever resources that we need to,” Capt. Adrien Gonzalez said.
Investigators say the shooting does not appear to be the result of a robbery. They believe the shooting was gang-related, but the investigation is still underway.
The current incident may have been triggered by deadly gunshots on Saturday night at 80th and Hoover Streets, which killed a 35-year-old man and injured two others. Investigators believe that Tuesday’s event could have been a form of gang retaliation.
The LAPD now has gang officers and community violence interventionists attempting to de-escalate tensions in the hopes of preventing further violence.
“This incident of violence has disrupted the peace and will absolutely not be tolerated. I’m working with community leaders and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell to prevent future incidents,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “LAPD will increase their presence in South L.A. Community violence interventionists are working to de-escalate community tensions and support victims and their families in the aftermath of these tragic events. I call on all neighbors, residents and young people to be peaceful. We will come together and we will support one another.”
The mayor visited the crime scene and promised to take immediate action.
“We will find the perpetrators of this crime and hold them accountable,” Bass said.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell stated that the incident took place near a school as students were leaving for the day.
“You look at this shooting, occurred about 2:30 this afternoon, there’s a school right across the street. That’s the time, generally, that school is letting out. The senselessness in this, the callousness of where they did it, when they did it, should really hit all of us,” McDonnell said.
Leave a Reply