Pregnant Woman Now Believed Shot in Domestic Dispute

What police initially thought was a case of a woman caught in the middle of a street gun battle in South Los Angeles is now believed to be a domestic dispute that ended when a man shot his pregnant girlfriend in the head, officials said Monday.

Shortly afterward, the unidentified man was killed Sunday night by police and also suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The woman, who also has not been identified, was reported in critical but stable condition at California Hospital Medical Center.

She is 23 weeks pregnant, and the fetus has a good heartbeat, said Dr. Gudata Hinika, director of the hospital’s trauma unit.

The woman was shot in the right side of the head, he said.

“We do see some sign of significant brain loss on the left side,” Hinika said, adding that she was incredibly lucky to be alive.

Police believe an argument led to the shooting about 6:15 p.m. near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Normandie Avenue.

After shooting the woman, the man walked to a nearby bus stop, where he and police exchanged gunfire. He later died at a hospital.

Investigators believe that the man was involved in yet another shooting -- after he shot his girlfriend but before he was shot by police -- with an unknown person whom officers have not found.

On Monday afternoon, residents and merchants near the location of the shooting talked about what had happened the previous night.

Lozaro D. Arias, 69, took his granddaughter to the site where the victim had fallen to the ground, and where traces of blood had stained the concrete.

“It’s no good,” he said, shaking his head and tapping his cane on the sidewalk.