Mistake Gang Shooting Critically Injures Woman

In a case of mistaken identity, a woman was shot and critically wounded inside her Los Angeles home in apparent retaliation for a slaying of a gang member the day before, police said Friday.

On Thursday police found Ricky Hamilton, 32, shot to death between some apartments in the 1600 block of West 37th Street shortly after 4 p.m.

Within hours of the killing, three suspected gang members walked up to a home in the same neighborhood and showered it with bullets. A woman inside was struck four times and was in critical condition at a local hospital, Sgt. Tim Tyree said. Tyree said the attack was intended for a woman across the street with the same first name. When the gunmen realized their mistake, they went to the right house sometime later and fired shots at it. No one was home this time, including the apparent target, the girlfriend of the man authorities believe killed Hamilton.

Authorities believe the shootings were apparently the result of an internal feud within a local area gang. Tyree said detectives believe that Hamilton was involved in the robbery of a home owned by a fellow gang member’s girlfriend.