1 Killed as Gang Brawl Erupts at Car Show : Violence: Two are critically injured in Pomona melee that spilled over into neighborhoods and continued for hours. Some criticize slow response of law enforcement.

One man was shot to death and at least two critically injured Sunday when a lowrider car show at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona turned into a violent brawl between hundreds of rival gang members and spilled into neighborhoods, authorities said.

Drive-by shootings erupted along residential streets, several fights broke out and some stabbings were reported as the clash between warring factions continued for several hours, police said.

The incident began at noon when a shooting on a nearby street touched off stabbings in a fairgrounds parking lot, police said. Backed up by officers from nearby departments, Pomona police closed the show, attended by 18,000 people, and made 11 arrests.

“The object wasn’t really to arrest people, it was just to get them out of the area,” said Pomona Police Lt. Larry Todd.

When the fairgrounds were closed, the fighting moved to the parking lot and then to nearby streets, police said.

Maxine Licata, who lives a few houses away from the fairgrounds, said police worked quickly once they arrived. But she said they should have known that trouble was in store earlier in the day, when she said traffic was nearly as thick as during the annual Los Angeles County Fair.

“They just waited too long,” Licata said. “They had this crowd starting early this morning, all backed up on the streets. It was only kids yelling at each other then, but you just knew something was going to happen.”

Officers marched down nearby streets 10 abreast to sweep fighting gang members out of the neighborhoods and out of Ganesha Park, just south of the fairgrounds, where a stabbing occurred, witnesses said. As the officers pushed forward, they warned residents to stay in their houses.

Eight people were injured, and the two critically injured were not expected to live through the night, said Pomona Lt. Bela Laszlo. The toll of injuries from the melee, which lasted until nearly 7 p.m., would undoubtedly mount significantly as details of the incident were sorted out, Laszlo said.

Those attending the show had to pass through metal detectors, and when the fights broke out inside, most involved used their fists and readily available objects such as fire extinguishers and trophies, said Gavin Koppel, a car buff who attended the show.

But once those involved reached the parking lots, he said, they were able to retrieve guns and knives from their cars.

Koppel said he was trapped in a traffic jam inside the fair parking lot for nearly an hour.

“I saw guys walking around with weapons, guns, and one guy had a piece of a roadblock, like a pole,” he said. “He threw it through the window of one of the show cars. . . . Pieces of glass flew onto my car. I was just so petrified.”

Koppel criticized the police for not reacting with more force once trouble started. He said such shows always draw members from several gangs, but fighting usually is stopped more quickly.

Laszlo acknowledged that there had been fighting at the annual car show last year, which caused Pomona police to double their ranks this year to about 50 officers to supplement the show’s security guards. But he said they had no idea the event would careen out of control so quickly.