2 Men in Car Wounded in Freeway Shooting

A gunman firing from a passing van wounded two men in a car on the Pomona Freeway in South El Monte Tuesday night, and the victims’ car crashed while trying to evade the suspects.

The crash occurred on the westbound Pomona Freeway at Rosemead Boulevard about 7:15 p.m., said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Santo Marino. The victims’ Ford Maverick was between the San Gabriel River Freeway and Rosemead Boulevard when a light-colored van pulled alongside, Marino said. The side doors on the van opened and someone inside asked “Where are you from?”--a challenge to name a gang affiliation. Several shots were then fired from the van, he said. The Maverick may have collided with two cars before it stopped on the center divider. The wounded men were hospitalized. Their names were not immediately released.