8 wounded in Los Angeles street shooting

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8 wounded in Los Angeles street shooting

By THOMAS WATKINS,
Associated Press Writer

A gunman fired into a crowd of children and adults at a South Los Angeles bus stop Wednesday, wounding eight, authorities said. Three girls, ages 10 to 12, and a woman were in critical condition. The gunman ran away, and streets in the area were shut down as numerous police officers rushed in.

Ezequiel Cornejo, 23, a tire mechanic, said he heard about 10 gunshots, probably from a handgun, just after neighborhood schools let out.

"After that I saw a little girl running, she was running back to the school, she was holding her arm," he said.

The shooting occurred around 3:15 p.m. at Central and Vernon avenues. Two of the victims ran away and were found wounded outside a nearby middle school, police Officer Sara Faden said.

The critically wounded were a 10-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl and a 49-year-old woman, said Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies.

A 12-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and two men, ages 48 and 68, had minor injuries.

It was the second major outburst of street violence in the city in a week's span.

Gang-related shootings carried out in broad daylight in the city's northeast area on Feb. 21 led to a gunbattle in which police killed one gunman, wounded another and swarmed a neighborhood with heavily armed officers who captured a third suspect. Police said the gunbattle involved members of a notorious gang entrenched in that area for decades.

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