1 Killed, 2 Hurt When Gunmen Open Fire at Panorama City House

One man was killed and two other people wounded Friday when at least two gunmen opened fire on a group of people in a Panorama City house, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

No motive for the shootings was known, Police Lt. Richard Blankenship said.

Two men and a woman were in the patio area outside the house in the 7900 block of Cherrystone Avenue at 2:42 p.m., apparently preparing for a birthday party, when a Ford Bronco, possibly brown, pulled up, Blankenship said. Witnesses said the sight of the car sent the three fleeing, but at least two men jumped from the vehicle and chased them into the house, he said.

Simon Macedo, 30, was shot to death in a bedroom. Maria Madrigal, 24, believed to be Macedo’s wife, was wounded, Blankenship said. Madrigal was hospitalized in stable condition.

Another man, whose identity was unavailable, was also shot and was in serious condition, Blankenship said.

Blankenship said an unidentified woman, who had gone into the house just before the shooting, escaped injury. He said it appeared a child was also in the house during the shootings. The child was uninjured.

The gunmen fled. Madrigal ran across the street and asked neighbor Soledad Carlos to call 911. The unidentified wounded man collapsed in a nearby yard.

“I was shocked when I saw her because she was full of blood,” Carlos said. “She was grabbing her stomach and she was bleeding.”

Police believe that Macedo and Madrigal lived in the house on Cherrystone Avenue, but they were unable to establish their relationship to the other man and woman.

Neighbors said they have grown increasingly accustomed to the sound of gunfire in recent months.

“I didn’t hear anybody scream, so I didn’t call the police,” David Bernstein, a nearby neighbor, said. “I hear gunshots everyday . . . it’s scary.”