Brawl at Calif. bowling alley leaves 3 shot to death, 4 hurt

TORRANCE, Calif. — Three men were fatally shot late Friday and four injured when a brawl at a popular Los Angeles-area bowling alley and karaoke bar erupted into gunfire that had terrified patrons 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, which offers bowling, laser tag and an arcade. 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 have not identified the victims or suspects.

But witnesses said it stemmed from a fight between two groups.

Dwayne Edwards, 60, of Los Angeles, said he received a call from his nephew that his son Astin Edwards, 28, 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, 29, of Torrance, 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 blocked the entrance and spiraled 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.” In France: Security forces fired tear gas and flashballs after a peaceful march through central Paris turned provocative Saturday as several thousand protesters staged the yellow vest movement’s first action of 2019 to keep up pressure on President Emmanuel Macron. The protests over fuel taxes began in mid-November.