Van Driver Is Fatally Shot After Chase

The driver of a van was fatally shot Saturday night after what witnesses described as a car chase and gun battle through their working-class neighborhood.

Los Angeles police declined to comment on the case, which they began to investigate about 7 p.m.

Residents said the incident began about 6 p.m. when the driver of a blue compact car chased the van westbound on Kagel Canyon Street.

When the driver of the van stopped on the side of the road in the 13800 block of Kagel Canyon Street, the driver of the compact car parked across the street, walked over to the van and shot the driver several times, according to witnesses.

Demetrius Cosby, 30, who lives about 100 yards from where the shooting occurred, said he heard shots and then saw the gunman driving away. He said his sister saw the shooting and told him what had happened.

“[The gunman] had no mercy,” Cosby said. “He was out to kill.”