Construction worker shot to death, 2 hurt in Pomona
Three construction workers on their way to breakfast during a midmorning break were shot, one of them fatally, after an unidentified gunman opened fire on their sport utility vehicle on a Pomona street, authorities said.
The shooting took place on Oak Avenue north of Mission Boulevard shortly after 9:30 a.m., in a largely residential area that residents and police say is known for gang-related violence.
One man working nearby reported hearing more than half a dozen shots. The bullets shattered the windshield of the dark green SUV.
The wounded driver managed to drive the vehicle back to the construction site in the 1700 block of West 2nd Street, Pomona Police Lt. Ron McDonald said.
Authorities were called at 9:42 a.m. and found the driver wounded in a thigh. Another man was bleeding from apparent gunshot wounds to an arm and leg. The third man was struck in the chest and was in full cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived. He was pronounced dead at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in Pomona.
The driver was hospitalized in stable condition; the second passenger was in critical condition.
The shooting sent shock waves through Darco Construction of Stanton. The company’s general superintendent, Ron Neilsen, declined to identify the victims but said they were recent hires. The shooting, he said, “came out of left field.”
Pomona police said that they did not know the motive for the crime but that it appeared the gunman fired into the vehicle from a sidewalk on the west side of Oak Street.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Det. Dan Kono at (909) 620-2085.
andrew.blankstein@latimes.com
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