2nd Man Was Shot on Eve of Rose Parade

A second man appears to have been a shooting victim during the overnight wait on Colorado Boulevard before the Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena police said Thursday.

Robert Van Mirlo, 18, of Azusa, was in Huntington Memorial Hospital, where X-rays disclosed that his back injury was not the result of being struck by a bottle, but was a gunshot wound. He was paralyzed, but it was not known whether his paralysis was permanent.

Police Sgt. Monte Yancey said the victim apparently suffered the injury when he attempted to intercede in a fight that broke out just before midnight New Year’s Eve at Colorado and Mar Vista Avenue.

Suspect Hunted

Meanwhile, Yancey said, police will probably seek a warrant today naming Anthony Jerome Parker, 18, of Altadena as the suspect in another shooting that took place in the crowds that traditionally gather before the parade to save places along the route. Parker was being sought.

The victim of that incident, Elfonte Howard, 20, was shot in the face at about 4 a.m. Wednesday in what police said appeared to be a confrontation between rival gang members. Howard was in critical condition at Huntington Memorial, but Yancey said Thursday that he seemed to be recovering.