Bystander shot, wounded on MTA bus in S. L.A. gang-related incident

A 30-year-old man suffered a serious gunshot wound to the back Monday in crossfire between two groups of gang members on a bus in South Los Angeles, police said.

The shooting occurred about noon on an MTA bus in the area of Western Avenue and Century Boulevard, said Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section. No other injuries were reported.

The victim entered the bus with his wife at Western and Century and sat down while gang members in one part of the bus and other gang members in the back of the bus were “chipping at each other,” inquiring about their gang affiliations, Lopez said.

As the man and his wife tried to move to another seat, a gang member in the back of the bus fired a shot toward the gang members at the front of the bus, striking the 30-year-old victim, Lopez said.

Paramedics rushed the man to an area hospital where he was in serious but stable condition.

“The suspects are gone and it’s gang-related,” Lopez said.

—City News Service