Gunman Sought in Killing of 2 Men
Police on Monday continued to search for a gunman who, without an apparent motive, fatally shot two men and wounded a pregnant woman as they sat in a car outside a North Hollywood laundromat.
About 10:15 p.m. Sunday, John Cortez Alonzo and Alejandro Lopez Perez, both 19, were killed and Alonzo’s 20-year-old girlfriend was injured when a gunman walked up to her parked BMW and fired at least six times, Los Angeles Police Det. Mike Coffey said.
The shooting took place at the busy intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Saticoy Street, with many people coming and going, Coffey said.
“The car’s windows were rolled up and eyewitnesses told us there was no conflict, no exchange of words and no road rage incident -- just the gunfire,” Coffey said. “None of those in the car have any gang affiliations. We don’t know what the motive is at this time.”
The assailant, armed with a mid-caliber revolver, stood a few feet from the victims as he fired through the windows of the car.
Two rounds hit the woman, who is eight months pregnant, Coffey said. Alonzo, of North Hollywood, and Perez, of La Puente, were pronounced dead at San Fernando Valley hospitals.
The woman, whose name was withheld for her safety, also was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in critical condition. She is expected to survive and give birth, Coffey said.
The woman told detectives she suspected the gunman was a gang member, but Coffey said police have few clues to a gang affiliation other than the type of clothing he wore.
Police described the gunman as a thin Latino man in his early 20s, about 5 feet 8, with dark, medium-length hair who was wearing a white T-shirt. Witnesses told police that the man left in a tan or silver car believed to be a Japanese model from the 1980s or ‘90s.
“It is not your typical shooting,” Coffey said. “The gunman never had any contact with his victims before the shooting.”
Anyone with information that could lead to the assailant is asked to contact detectives at (818) 623-4016.
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