Two men fatally shot at Los Angeles Venice Beach
Venice Beach
LOS ANGELES - Two people were killed in a drive-by shooting that shattered the tranquility at the popular and crowded Venice Beach on Sunday.
Police said another shooting a few hours later, and about 10 miles away, may have been connected.
The names of the victims and suspects were not immediately released.
In Venice, three men driving in a burgundy car pulled up along side a blue vehicle just before 1 p.m. and shot and killed the two men inside the other car before speeding away, police Officer Don Cox said.
A third person was critically injured and was taken to a hospital.
Two suspects were arrested minutes later several miles south of the Venice shooting, Cox said. Detectives were searching for a third suspect.
The victims had no weapons in their car but did have paint that detectives believe may have been intended for "tagging," or graffiti, Det. Mike Depasquale told KNBC-TV.
He estimated about 40,000 people were in a four-block vicinity of the shooting, either on the beach or strolling in the neighborhood.
Around 3 p.m., another man was killed east of the earlier shooting when two men ran up to his car and fired inside. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses described three suspects driving a Black Honda Civic, police said, but no arrests were immediately made.
Cox said police are investigating whether the two shootings were related.