5 people hospitalized after shooting at Los Angeles beach, police say
At least five people were wounded in a shooting at Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro, California, on Saturday evening, authorities said. All five individuals are hospitalized, with at least two in critical condition the morning after the shooting, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Conditions of two of the other people shot were listed as serious when the LAPD received their latest update about the victims, a spokesperson for the police department said in a statement to CBS News on Sunday. The final person shot and wounded was stable, according to the spokesperson. The identities of those injured have not been shared publicly, although some reports suggest that one of them is a teenager. According to CBS Los Angeles, four of the individuals hospitalized are men, aged 51, 45, 28 and 15.
"Five male Hispanic victims were at a barbeque, at the beach, with a group of approximately 10-20 people. Two male Hispanic suspects approached the group and engaged in a physical altercation," the police department spokesperson said on Sunday. "It is unknown at this time if the incident is gang related."
Authorities have not located two suspects wanted in connection with the crime. Police with the Harbor division of the LAPD originally received a radio call reporting the shooting at around 5:45 p.m. PT, the department's public information officer wrote on Twitter. A preliminary investigation indicated that the suspects, two men, approached a group of people at Royal Palms Beach and "an altercation ensued which resulted in a shooting," according to the tweet.
Five people were hit with gunfire before the suspects fled the scene, the public information officer wrote. Another tweet shared earlier to the same account said there was "not an active shooter situation."
Authorities say the suspects were driving a silver sedan. After they fled the San Pedro beach where the shooting occurred, four of the five wounded individuals were transported to a local hospital by Los Angeles firefighters, according to the LAPD. The fifth person was taken to the hospital by a private party, the police department said.
Please see my joint statement with Councilman @TimMcOskerLA on the shooting this evening at Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro. pic.twitter.com/0ORfxKNqNC
— Janice Hahn (@SupJaniceHahn) March 5, 2023
L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn and City Councilman Tim McOsker said in a joint statement shared on Twitter that they were "outraged and saddened" over the shooting in San Pedro.
"We're outraged and saddened by the shooting at Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro that has left 5 people injured. It's tragically ironic that today we hosted a gun buy-back event just a few miles away from this location," their statement read. "Gun violence is wreaking havoc on our community."
Royal Palms Beach will be closed on Sunday, and the beach will routinely close earlier on weekends "as we work on plans together to ensure safety and peaceful community use," said Hahn and McOsker.