Brother and Sister Wounded by Bandits

Suspected robbers shot and critically wounded a man and his sister Thursday and attempted to shoot--but missed--their mother after apparently breaking into the family’s home in Wilmington, Los Angeles police said.

Lt. Doug Collisson said Caesar Cardenas, 22, is not expected to survive. He and his sister, Lourdes, 23, were in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital. Officers are seeking three assailants in the early morning shooting.

Police found the victims’ mother, Maria, in “a very distraught condition,” on the front lawn of the house in a quiet neighborhood on Marine Avenue, Collisson said. The assailants apparently shot at her from close range, but missed, he added.

Her son and daughter were found inside. Both had been shot with a large caliber weapon, investigators said.

“It doesn’t appear that there was any resistance,” Collisson said. “The mother told us she heard her daughter begging for mercy, telling them to take anything but not to hurt them.”