Man, 18, on Life Support After Drive-By Shooting
An 18-year-old man was on life support and two other men were wounded in a drive-by shooting on Roscoe Boulevard in Sun Valley, authorities said Friday.
Jose Alejandro Padilla of Arleta was shot once in the head Thursday night as the Chevy Suburban he was riding in was riddled with bullets near Webb Avenue, said Det. Vince Bancroft of the Los Angeles Police Department’s North Hollywood Division.
Witnesses told police that three or four men were in a turquoise compact car that fled east on Roscoe after the 10:15 p.m. shooting. The assailants first spotted the SUV leaving a gas station and caught up to it near Webb Avenue, where at least one man opened fire, Bancroft said.
Padilla was sitting in the back seat of the Suburban. An unidentified 26-year-old man also was riding in the SUV.
Bancroft said the Suburban’s 18-year-old driver got on the Golden State Freeway, but his vehicle was losing fluids from bullet holes in the radiator. The driver stopped near the Sheldon Street exit, where a Caltrans crew and a California Highway Patrol officer helped the men, Bancroft said.
Padilla was taken to a local hospital and the other two were treated and released from County-USC Medical Center.
The shooting is believed to be gang-related, Bancroft said.
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