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Glendale News-Press
Published April 18, 2006
Glendale man hit in drive-by shooting
Shooter targets young man on foot. Injuries not thought to be
life-threatening.
By Vince Lovato, News-Press and Leader
SOUTH GLENDALE -- A young Glendale man was shot in the knee in a
drive-by shooting Monday afternoon while walking with a group of
friends at Adams Street and Elk Avenue, police said.
Two to four males in a green Toyota Camry passed a group of more than
a dozen teens and young adults who were walking south on Adams about
a block south of East Colorado Street, Glendale Police Officer John
Balian said.
The Camry started to turn west on Elk but stopped. A male in the
rear passenger seat pointed a hand gun at the group and fired, Balian
said. .
The bullet struck a young man in the knee. The wounded man limped
east across Adams, where he collapsed after realizing he was shot,
Balian said.
advertisement The young man was taken to Glendale Memorial Hospital,
Balian said. Police could not release the name of the victim until
family members were notified.
His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, Balian said.
Witnesses said the Camry drove west on Elk as members of the group
walking with the shooting victim used cellphones to call 911. The
early 1990s Camry had no license plates, Balian said.
Police were still looking for leads Monday night.
"We have nothing right now but the good thing we have are a lot of
witnesses," Balian said.
The victim's shoe and T-shirt were still on the sidewalk as police
interviewed witnesses inside an area cordoned off with yellow police
tape as dozens of onlookers watched the scene.
Minutes before the shooting, which took place at approximately
3 p.m., the Camry drove past the group when they were near Orange
Grove Avenue and Verdugo Road, Balian said. A witness said a one of
the men in the car fired one shot into the air, striking no one.
The group thought the first shooting was a hoax and laughed it off, the
witness said. Police confirmed that there was an altercation earlier,
but could neither confirm nor deny that a shot was fired into the air.
Forensics investigators removed a bullet from a wall behind the area
of the shooting, Balian said.
Victor Hermosillo, a 28-year-old father who lives on Elk a few houses
west of the shooting, said he thought the shooting was part of a "turf
war" in the old, middle-class neighborhood, where racial tension has
been mounting.
"You see the racial tension between the Armenian kids and the Mexican
kids at school every day," Hermosillo said. But Balian said beat
police haven't reported any heightened racial tension in the area.
"We don't have anything telling us that it was racially motivated,"
Balian said.
"And usually if it's gang related it's because of territorial issues
and it just happens that the suspects and victims happen to be from
different parts of the world and are not targeted by their race. They
are fighting over their area."
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to
call Det.
Matt Irvine at (818) 548-3987 or the police's crime stoppers number at
(818) 507-STOP where witnesses can remain anonymous and can receive
a $1,000 reward if they have information that leads to a conviction,
Balian said.
* VINCE LOVATO covers education. He may be reached at (818) 637-3215
or by e-mail at vincent.lovatolatimes.com.
Published April 18, 2006
Glendale man hit in drive-by shooting
Shooter targets young man on foot. Injuries not thought to be
life-threatening.
By Vince Lovato, News-Press and Leader
SOUTH GLENDALE -- A young Glendale man was shot in the knee in a
drive-by shooting Monday afternoon while walking with a group of
friends at Adams Street and Elk Avenue, police said.
Two to four males in a green Toyota Camry passed a group of more than
a dozen teens and young adults who were walking south on Adams about
a block south of East Colorado Street, Glendale Police Officer John
Balian said.
The Camry started to turn west on Elk but stopped. A male in the
rear passenger seat pointed a hand gun at the group and fired, Balian
said. .
The bullet struck a young man in the knee. The wounded man limped
east across Adams, where he collapsed after realizing he was shot,
Balian said.
advertisement The young man was taken to Glendale Memorial Hospital,
Balian said. Police could not release the name of the victim until
family members were notified.
His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, Balian said.
Witnesses said the Camry drove west on Elk as members of the group
walking with the shooting victim used cellphones to call 911. The
early 1990s Camry had no license plates, Balian said.
Police were still looking for leads Monday night.
"We have nothing right now but the good thing we have are a lot of
witnesses," Balian said.
The victim's shoe and T-shirt were still on the sidewalk as police
interviewed witnesses inside an area cordoned off with yellow police
tape as dozens of onlookers watched the scene.
Minutes before the shooting, which took place at approximately
3 p.m., the Camry drove past the group when they were near Orange
Grove Avenue and Verdugo Road, Balian said. A witness said a one of
the men in the car fired one shot into the air, striking no one.
The group thought the first shooting was a hoax and laughed it off, the
witness said. Police confirmed that there was an altercation earlier,
but could neither confirm nor deny that a shot was fired into the air.
Forensics investigators removed a bullet from a wall behind the area
of the shooting, Balian said.
Victor Hermosillo, a 28-year-old father who lives on Elk a few houses
west of the shooting, said he thought the shooting was part of a "turf
war" in the old, middle-class neighborhood, where racial tension has
been mounting.
"You see the racial tension between the Armenian kids and the Mexican
kids at school every day," Hermosillo said. But Balian said beat
police haven't reported any heightened racial tension in the area.
"We don't have anything telling us that it was racially motivated,"
Balian said.
"And usually if it's gang related it's because of territorial issues
and it just happens that the suspects and victims happen to be from
different parts of the world and are not targeted by their race. They
are fighting over their area."
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to
call Det.
Matt Irvine at (818) 548-3987 or the police's crime stoppers number at
(818) 507-STOP where witnesses can remain anonymous and can receive
a $1,000 reward if they have information that leads to a conviction,
Balian said.
* VINCE LOVATO covers education. He may be reached at (818) 637-3215
or by e-mail at vincent.lovatolatimes.com.