Slaying Blamed on Refusal to Run Red Light

In an apparent act of road rage sparked by a long red light, two men gunned down the driver of another car and wounded his passenger Tuesday afternoon in Lynwood, authorities said.

Witnesses told homicide investigators that at least five shots were fired about 3 p.m. at Long Beach Boulevard and Euclid Avenue in a neighborhood that has come to feel under siege in recent weeks.

“The victim was headed east on Euclid and waiting for an unusually long red light when a white Mazda minivan pulled up behind him,” Sheriff’s Lt. Raymond Peavy said. “The guys in the van started honking and yelling for the victim to run the red light. He refused.”

Two men in the van went to the driver’s side of the victim’s Camaro and fired several rounds before the van sped east on Euclid, Peavy said. The 43-year-old driver of the Camaro was hit in the upper torso. His car wove into a nearby neighborhood, plowed into a fence and came to rest on a sofa that had been left on a parkway, Peavy said.

His passenger, who was shot in the left leg, staggered down Long Bach Boulevard on foot screaming, “I’ve been shot, man. I’ve been shot,” witnesses said.

The driver was pronounced dead at a hospital; the passenger was in stable condition. Peavy declined to identify either victim pending notification of relatives.

Police are looking for a 1990 or 1991 white Mazda minivan that might have a broken windshield, said Deputy Margarita Velasquez. The suspects were described as Latinos with shaved heads.

Residents said several shootings have occurred in their neighborhood within the last week.

“It’s sad. We hear gunshots every night. We bought the kids scooters, but they can’t even ride them,” said Reba Perruci, 30. “We keep the kids inside, usually somewhere in the back of the house so maybe a bullet fired in the street won’t be able to reach them.”

Store clerk Trekeita Moore, 21, said, “It’s rough. There’s gangs on every block, back-to-back shootings, folks staying inside their homes after dark.”

“Around here,” she added, “it’s like living in a terrifying, violent movie, only we’re not getting paid.”