Sunday, March 30, 2008

Battleground SoCal

Two separate shootings on the San Fernando Valley Freeway have left one man dead in Los Angeles and an investigation into the second shooting in Long Beach. Today's shootings are just the latest in a string of shootings over the past few weeks.

Police officials report that the San Fernando Valley man crashed his car after being shot in the head on the 101 today. Rescue crews discovered him in response to a call for a rolled over vehicle on the roadway early this morning.

Traffic was closed in the Van Nuys area until rescuers could transport the man and clear the road. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition, and later died from his injuries.

The second incident took place around 30 miles away on the 710 freeway near Del Amo Boulevard on Saturday evening, sending the victim in this case to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, after being shot by the driver of another vehicle. Police officials say the man characterized the incident as a case of road rage.

These two shootings are latest in what has been a string of shootings ranging back to late February, when a 46 year-old man was hospitalized after being shot on the Foothill Freeway. Another incident was reported on March 1st in which a 26 year old man died after being shot on the 101 Freeway following an argument with another individual on Hollywood Boulevard. A 54 year-old woman also died after being hospitalized for her injuries after being shot in the head on the San Bernardino Freeway in mid-March.

Police are asking for witnesses to call in about this morning's lethal shooting in the San Fernando Valley.

"Maybe somebody just saw the car spinning out of control and they didn't see anything else," Miller told KNX. He asked if "anybody who was on the freeway this morning around 8 o'clock, that saw any of what happened, could give us a call."

The Honda sedan could have been travelling on the 101, could have entered the eastbound freeway at Van Nuys or Sepulveda boulevards, or could have transitioned onto the 101 from the 405 just before the shooting, police said.

Detectives can be reached by calling the LAPD's main phone number, (877) LAWFULL, or (877) 529-3877.


At this time there have been no arrests in any of the shootings over the past two months.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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