Man Shot in Back, Kicked in the Head at Swap Meet

An unidentified man was shot in the back and then kicked in the head by his assailants, who confronted him in the parking lot of a popular weekend swap meet in Panorama City, authorities said.

The victim, described by police as an adult Latino, was shot once in the back with a small-caliber handgun, said Lt. Tom Mears of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division.

He underwent emergency surgery at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was listed in critical condition, Mears said.

The victim was standing in the parking lot of the Valley Indoor Swap Meet in the 14600 block of Parthenia Street shortly after 3 p.m. when he was confronted by four men, Mears said. After a brief argument, the man tried to run away from his assailants, but was shot in the back as he fled, Mears said.

As the suspected shooter fled the scene, one of the three men accompanying him stopped long enough to kick the victim in the head, Mears said.

Police arrested three unidentified suspects, including the man suspected of kicking the victim after he was shot. The shooter was still being sought by police, Mears said.

The unidentified suspects, two adults and one juvenile, were booked at the Van Nuys jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Mears said. Bail for each of the suspects was set at $20,000, he added.

The swap meet, which is open from Friday through Sunday, is a popular shopping spot, but located in a neighborhood that experiences daily street drug sales and ongoing gang activity, Mears said.

There is no clear motive for the shooting, Mears said.