Three wounded in South L.A. party bus shooting

At least three people were injured overnight when someone opened fire at a party bus driving through South Los Angeles, police said Monday.

Gunfire broke out about 11 p.m. Sunday near the 9700 block of South Broadway, said LAPD Officer Sara Faden. The driver of the bus was hit in the eyes by shattered glass, Faden said, but managed to reach LAPD’s 77th Street station, about a mile and a half away.

“They drove to the station looking for help,” she said. “Thankfully, he was able to drive safely.”

Two other people on the bus were struck by gunfire, Faden said. They included a 30-year-old man shot in the arm and a 24-year-old woman who suffered a grazed arm. None of the injuries is expected to be life-threatening.

It’s unclear what led to the shooting. Detectives believe some of the passengers on the bus were gang members and witnesses weren’t cooperating with investigators, said LAPD Sgt. Scott Blackman at the department’s 77th Street Station.

Faden said the gunfire came from outside the party bus, which was carrying as many as 40 people at the time. No suspect description was available Monday.

South Los Angeles saw an outburst of violence last week, with six separate shootings that left at least five people dead and 10 others wounded. Concerned about the potential for retaliation, LAPD officials boosted patrols in the department’s South Bureau and gang intervention workers hit the streets.

In general, the area has seen homicides and other serious crimes plummet in recent years. Until the Labor Day weekend, South L.A. had been enjoying a continuation of its steady decline in killings and shootings. The LAPD’s South Bureau reported 69 shootings during a four-week period in August compared with 98 during a similar four-week period in June.

Faden said it was too early to tell if the party bus shooting was related to any of last week’s incidents, but said it was “absolutely” something detectives would look into.

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