1 Killed in Gang Shooting : Violence: Gunman also wounds six people at a party in Montecito Heights. Assailant opens fire after peaceful revelers say they are not affiliated with any ‘set.’

A gang member sprayed a crowd with gunfire from an automatic weapon at an impromptu Montecito Heights street party early Saturday, killing a Pasadena man and injuring six others, Los Angeles police said.

The shooting came after some of about 100 revelers tried to reassure a carload of young gang members that they were not affiliated with any of the “sets” that prowl the area.

Nevertheless, police said, one of the gang members drew an automatic rifle and started shooting. Party-goers fled as the victims fell. Shell casings littered the street.

The six young men and one woman who were wounded were rushed to hospitals. A 20-year-old man whose identity was withheld pending notification of relatives died at Huntington Memorial Hospital shortly after the 12:45 a.m. incident. Two others remained in critical condition Saturday evening at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Detective Larry Martinez, a 27-year police veteran, called the attack “probably the most senseless in terms of innocent victims” he had investigated.

Most party-goers were in their late teens and early 20s, Martinez said. Their 60 cars jammed Griffin Avenue, where it winds through Ernest E. Debs Regional Park, as they milled about, exchanged telephone numbers and drank beer.

The party was winding down when Latino gang members drove up and asked a few party-goers to identify their gang, Martinez said.

Although the challenge turned up no rivals in the peaceful crowd, the gang members persisted. Martinez said the gun was drawn without warning.

The scene turned chaotic when the shots were fired, he said, as most party-goers ran to their cars and sped away. The gang members also fled, leaving police with few leads about their identities, a description of their vehicle or which gang was involved.

Detectives plan to look into the street gangs in that area for leads in the case, Martinez said.

In addition to the two men in critical condition, another was in stable condition at Huntington Memorial Hospital. Three others, including the woman, were treated and released from Los Angeles County-USC and Glendale Adventist hospitals.