Man Shot While Waiting for Tow

A 19-year-old Upland man was shot and wounded Wednesday night as he and friends stood outside their stalled car beside the Orange Freeway, police said.

The victim, whose identity was withheld, had just returned to the car after going off with a friend to telephone a towing company, Police Sgt. Ken Gardner said. The 1989 Mazda had broken down on the southbound side of the freeway just south of Orangethorpe Avenue.

The occupants of the car were standing next to it shortly before 9:30 p.m. when a man emerged from some bushes alongside the freeway, Gardner said. A verbal confrontation erupted, and then the man pulled out a gun and fired four to six rounds.

The attacker fled on foot, Gardner said.

The victim, who was struck in the upper chest, was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he was undergoing surgery. No one else was uninjured.