Gunman Kills Driver, Wounds Passenger

A 30-year-old driver was killed and his passenger injured Wednesday afternoon when a gunman fired into their car as they drove down a busy stretch of Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys, Los Angeles police said.

The shooting occurred at 1:15 p.m. in the 7400 block of the boulevard, in front of a popular taco stand, LAPD Sgt. John Cudworth said.

Cudworth said it was not known whether the shooting was gang-related.

Officers initially said a Latino man--who was still at large Wednesday evening--walked up to the white Acura and fired. But Det. Al Aldez said: “We’ve got 10 different stories [from witnesses]. At this time, we’re not really sure what happened.”

Police did not release the names of the victims, who were both taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

The driver, who was shot in the head, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The passenger, 21, was shot in the arm and was in stable condition Wednesday.

A police helicopter scoured the area and officers rounded up a number of potential suspects about 15 minutes later, but all were released, Cudworth said.

Kamlesh Prajapati said he was at his store, Top Produce Market, when he heard eight to 10 shots fired about 50 feet away, as the boulevard bustled with traffic.

He said his wife, Jyotsna Prajapati, was fatally shot in the store in 1995 when she tried to stop two gang members from stealing a 12-pack of beer. But he said there hadn’t been much trouble in the neighborhood since.

Glenn Howell, manager of an air conditioning wholesaler on the corner, said: “It’s usually not too bad. Sometimes we’ll get little gangbangers beating the [heck] out of each other for five minutes, and then they leave. But fortunately we don’t get a lot of gunfire in this neighborhood.”

Homicide detectives asked that anyone with information call them at (818) 756-8377.

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Times staff writer David Pierson contributed to this story.