3 killed in bowling alley shootout
TORRANCE, Calif. — Three men were fatally shot late Friday and four wounded when a brawl at a popular Los Angeles-area bowling alley and karaoke bar erupted into gunfire that had terrified patrons, some children, running for their lives.
Police in the coastal city of Torrance responded shortly after midnight to calls of shots fired at the Gable House Bowl.
They found seven people with gunshot wounds.
Three men were pronounced dead at the scene and two were taken to a hospital, Sgt. Ronald Harris said.
Two other men were struck by gunfire but “opted to seek their own medical attention.”
Authorities didn’t identify the victims or suspects or released details about what led to the shooting. Witnesses said it stemmed from a fight between two large groups.
Dwayne Edwards, 60, of L.A., said he received a call from his nephew that his 28-year-old son, Astin, was one of those killed.
His nephew told him his son was attempting to break up a fight when a gunman “just started unloading.”
“I’m thinking this is a dream and I’ll wake up,” Edwards told the Orange County Register. “He was a good kid. I don’t understand it.”
Wes Hamad, a 29-year-old Torrance resident, said he was at the bowling alley with his 13-year-old niece and cousin when he saw a “huge fight” break out.
Hamad said the brawl, which lasted about five minutes, blocked the entrance and spiralled into “complete chaos.”
“I grabbed my niece and started running toward the far end of the bowling alley,” he said. “As we were running, we heard 15 shots.”