3 Die, 5 Wounded in Restaurant Shootings

Three people died and five were wounded in two unrelated shootings in Southland restaurants, police said Sunday.

An argument that escalated into a fistfight--and then gunfire--left two men dead and a man and woman critically wounded early Sunday at the Cafe Mirage in Monterey Park. A suspect who was taken into custody and questioned was later released.

Two hours earlier, one man died and three teen-agers were wounded when two gunmen wearing baseball caps opened fire on patrons at the Cafe Mozart in Westminster. Police in the Orange County city said the gunmen, who had not been caught as of late Sunday, were believed to be members of a Vietnamese gang.

Handguns were used in both shootings, police said.

In the Monterey Park incident, one victim died in the parking lot of the restaurant on South Atlantic Boulevard, and another was pronounced dead at Monterey Park Hospital, Sgt. Robert Stoneman said. A coroner’s spokesman identified them as Cuong Van Ly, 20, and Eric Namtu Trang, 31, both of Monterey Park.

The man and woman who were critically wounded were not immediately identified.

Investigators gave no details of the dispute that led to the shooting.

A few minutes before midnight, two gunmen walked into the Cafe Mozart, a coffee shop in a strip shopping mall on Westminster Boulevard, and sprayed the crowded cafe with gunfire. The cafe is popular with young people.

It was the third shooting at a Westminster restaurant in less than a year.

According to police, the four people shot were in different parts of the cafe and authorities did not know if they were singled out or shot at random.

Le Quan Nguyen, 20, of Garden Grove died from multiple gunshot wounds. Another bullet struck a 16-year-old Santa Ana boy in the back, leaving him paralyzed, Sgt. Dave Stronach said. The boy was listed in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center on Sunday.

Two 19-year-old women, one shot in the elbow, the other in the knee, were listed in good condition at Garden Grove Medical Center.

The gunmen were being sought and were described as 19 or 20 years old.