2 Freeway Shootings Leave 3 Wounded

Two freeway shootings in Los Angeles County about eight hours apart left three people injured, one critically, authorities said Monday.

A husband and wife were shot while driving along the Long Beach Freeway early Monday; a similar attack Sunday night wounded a man on the 91 Freeway.

“As far as we know, the shootings are unrelated,” said Sgt. Jerry Espinoza of the California Highway Patrol, adding that there was no known motive.

The couple, agents for the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees safety at the nation’s airports, were on their way to work. A dark-colored SUV pulled up next to their Chevrolet Monte Carlo about 4 a.m. Monday in Bell Gardens north of the Firestone Boulevard offramp, Espinoza said.

A gunman fired several times into the driver’s side of the couple’s car and sped away south on the freeway.

The driver, Juan I. Carrillo, 29, of Cudahy, was shot in the face, chest and left arm. He managed to drive to a gas station and call 911 from a pay phone. He was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, where he was reported in critical condition. His 24-year-old wife, Jennifer, was struck in the left arm and was listed in stable condition at the same hospital, Espinoza said.

Authorities briefly closed all southbound lanes near the shooting scene and reportedly found four bullet casings.

Earlier, an unidentified 26-year-old San Pedro man was struck by a single bullet about 8 p.m. Sunday while driving west on the 91 Freeway near the Harbor Freeway in Carson.

He was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center near Torrance with injuries considered serious but not life-threatening, CHP officials said.

The man’s 6-year-old and 7-month-old sons, passengers in the car, were unharmed.

The CHP closed the freeway for about two hours to search for shell casings but reportedly found none.

Witnesses told authorities that the shooter was in a white SUV and that both vehicles were being driven erratically.

The victim was unable to provide a description of his assailant, authorities said.

The shootings come almost a year after the Southland was beset by a rash of frequent but seemingly random and unrelated freeway shootings. Nearly 30 shootings were reported in a five-month span, resulting in at least four deaths, including that of a 20-year-old Long Beach college student.