Man Critically Shot Outside Mini-Mall

A Los Angeles man shot Sunday afternoon outside a Sepulveda mini-mall remained in critical condition, Los Angeles police said.

Witnesses told police that one or two men approached Michael Lee Smith, 24, about 1:50 p.m. and fired two or three shots at him from a distance of about three feet, Sgt. Tim Day said. At least one shot struck Smith in the stomach, Day said.

The suspects, described as being in their mid-20s, fired another two or three shots at Smith as he ran from the mall on the southwest corner of Sepulveda and Roscoe boulevards, Day said.

Day said witnesses told police that Smith had fought with one of his assailants earlier in the day.

Smith was in critical but stable condition Sunday at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Day said. No one had been arrested in connection with the shooting, he said.