Trader Joe's shooting: One dead and three hospitalized after gunman opens fire in parking lot, two suspects arrested
WEST HILLS, CALIFORNIA: A 45-year-old male died and three other adult victims were taken to the hospital after an unknown gunman opened fire in the Trader Joe's parking lot on Saturday, April 1. Los Angeles police officers are said to have taken the suspected shooter in custody, who had fled the area in a red Toyota Corolla, along with a woman. Authorities said the man “called a friend to pick him up” after he fled from the scene. He got into a “red Corolla being driven by a woman” before police tracked and arrested them.
According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, the incident occurred at 3.45 pm in the 22800 block of Vanowen Street near Fallbrook Avenue. The victims included a 35-year-old woman who was hospitalized in critical condition, while a 35-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man were in serious to critical condition, as per NBC News.
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What happened at Trader Joe's parking lot?
Talking about the shooting, Adam Strickland, an eyewitness, said as per KTLA, “I heard a couple of pops and it didn’t even occur to me that they were gunshots until I saw people running down the parking lot. Behind me, I saw a couple people panicking and the guy who got shot just slowly fell to the ground and the people who were with him started panicking. A guy came in and started putting pressure on the guy’s wound.” Video footage posted on Twitter showed multiple paramedics attending to a person sitting on the pavement who was being treated for a gunshot wound to the chest. According to DailyMail, there are some reports of a possible fourth victim. Following the shooting, the shopping center remains closed as the investigation is still ongoing.
🚨#BREAKING: Multiple people have been shot at Trader Joe’s Grocery
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) April 1, 2023
📌#LosAngeles | #California
Currently a massive response underway as multiple people have been shot at a Trader Joe’s Grocery reports are saying that 3-4 people have been shot with at least one fatality… pic.twitter.com/hqBn218d6U
Is the suspect related to the victims?
LAPD spokesperson Officer Jayder Chaves said the suspect, who was taken into custody after a short search, may be known to the victims, reports Los Angeles Daily News. However, there are no details indicating if the shooting was gang-related. It’s unclear what prompted the shooting. Also, no description of the alleged gunman has been provided.
The incident comes a week after the Minnesota parking lot shooting that injured six people on March 25, all with non-life-threatening injuries. Juveniles, reportedly between the age of 15 and 18, were included among the six victims. All are expected to recover, reports Fox News. Commander Tony Gruenig said in a press release, as stated by CBS News, "Multiple Detectives were called in to assist in the investigation. At this time, we have several active leads that we are pursuing. We don’t believe this was a random act and the general public is not at risk. Currently, we do not have any suspects in custody."