3 killed, 12 hurt in gunbattle at L.A. eatery
Argument leads to ‘a bloody scene’ as patrons open fire on one another
LOS ANGELES — A gunbattle at a restaurant in southwest Los Angeles left three people dead and 12 others wounded early Saturday, prompting a massive police dragnet for suspects.
“It’s a bloody scene with shell casings everywhere,” Los Angeles Police Sgt. Frank Preciado said.
There were about 50 people inside the restaurant when an argument broke out, Preciado said.
Three men left the restaurant, returned with firearms and began shooting, according to police. Others at the restaurant also opened fire, and some diners were caught in the crossfire, Preciado said.
The shooting continued in the driveway of the restaurant, which is located in a house on a residential block, police said.
“When we got there, there were three people dead and people running everywhere,” Preciado said. “We had multiple people with gunshot wounds.”
Numerous officers from across Los Angeles were sent to the scene, which Preciado called “really devastating.”
Police took into custody two “persons of interest” — a man and a women — but were still looking for suspects Saturday afternoon. A gun was recovered from the scene, Preciado said.
Some of the wounded were taken by ambulance to area hospitals, while others drove themselves, authorities said.
“The injured are scattered across Los Angeles hospitals.” Preciado added.
Deputy Chief Bill Scott, head of the Los Angeles Police Department’s South bureau, said his officers were still trying to piece together what happened.
“This is real tragic. We have a lot of sorting out to do. When the shooting started, everyone scattered,” he said. “Our detectives are getting a better picture of what unfolded.”
A motive for the shooting remained unclear.
The owner of the Jamaican eatery, who identified himself only as Dilly, told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday that he runs a catering business out of the house, not a restaurant. He said he was hosting a birthday celebration when the shooting occurred.
“I do catering; that’s all I do,” he said. “Except on Saturdays when people come over and I cook food for them.”
The man, 63, said he has operated his business out of the house for more than a decade. He said another shooting occurred at the location in 2011.
“The guy that died in that shooting was my friend,” he said.
Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a statement Saturday, saying the shooting was “the latest example of a senseless gun violence epidemic that causes so much pain and sorrow in our city and across the nation.”
“Our thoughts are with the families mourning or praying at bedsides today,” Garcetti said. “We must take action against easy access to firearms and the thoughtless, indiscriminate, murderous use of them.”