Police Say 3 Weekend Drive-By Shootings Are Gang-Related

Three drive-by shootings that left six injured in Pacoima over the weekend seem to be gang-related, police said Tuesday.

“All the indications right now are that this is gang versus gang and not the general public,” said Lt. Rick Papke of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division.

At 1:30 a.m. Saturday, one or more gunmen fired at three teenage girls near the corner of Ralston Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard, said Det. Kandi Schmidt of LAPD’s Foothill Division. Two of the girls were shot in the legs. The injuries were not serious, Schmidt said.

About 19 hours later and a block away, near the corner of Van Nuys Boulevard and Pala Avenue, a 35-year-old man--a relative of at least one of the teenage girls--was shot twice.

Though he still had a bullet lodged in his neck, the man was in stable condition Tuesday at an area hospital, Schmidt said.

A few hours later, three teenage boys were shot in the 13200 block of Mercer Street, less than three blocks away from the first two shootings.

“They were neighbors of the girls who were shot,” Schmidt said. “It’s all gang-related. They know who they’re looking for. It’s nothing where the public needs to be worried.”

In the third case, the car involved in the shooting was a dark Honda or Toyota Camry with an open roof, possibly a hatchback, Schmidt said.

Police are asking anyone with more information to call detectives at (818) 834-3115 during business hours or (818) 756-8863 after hours.