A weekend shooting in Hawthorne that left one man dead and another injured wasn’t related to an argument that broke out during a basketball game, a sheriff’s detective said on Monday, Jan. 15.
After speaking to witnesses, investigators don’t think the dispute is the motive behind the Sunday shooting, and they suspect believe it was possibly gang-related, sheriff’s Lt. Hugo Reynaga said.
It appears the victims were targeted, he said, with detectives believing the suspects are gang members.
The shooting happened in the parking lot of Holly Park, at 2058 W. 120th St.
A car pulled up, three men jumped out and shot at a group that was standing between two parked vehicles, Reynaga said. Two men were hit.
People on the basketball court started running away from the gunshots. The three suspects returned to their white vehicle and drove off.
As people were coming out of the northern side of the park, Reynaga said, the shooters fired at them. No one was injured in the second round of shooting, which erupted at 120th and Daleside Avenue.
Hawthorne police had received a 911 call of a shooting shortly before 11:30 a.m. Officers found the two men, in their early to mid 30s, who had been shot in the parking lot.
The medical examiner’s office had not yet publicly identified the man who was killed. The second victim’s condition on Monday was unclear.
Detectives asked anyone with information about the shooting to call them at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tipsters can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or at lacrimestoppers.org.