NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—An approximately 60-year-old man hired to paint over gang graffiti on the wall of a Northridge business was killed by a gunman armed with an “Uzi”-type semiautomatic handgun, who also wounded three other men in the vicinity, authorities said April 16.
The victims were standing near Vanalden Avenue and Parthenia Street at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday when the shooter approached in a white sedan traveling northbound on Vanalden, exited the vehicle, and opened fire, striking the man multiple times in the chest, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
The man painting over the gang graffiti was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.
Three other men in the immediate vicinity were also struck by gunfire before the shooter got back into the sedan and sped away northbound on Vanalden. Police said two of the shooting victims underwent surgery and the fourth was treated and released.
They were all Hispanic men, Officer Tony Im of the LAPD told City News Service.
The shooter was described as a tall, light-skinned Black man in his 30s, the police department reported Saturday evening.
“Yesterday four individuals were shot in the community of Northridge while painting our graffiti on the wall of a local business. One person was killed and three were injured but are expected to make a full recovery,” LA Police Commission President William Briggs II said in a statement Sunday.
“On behalf of myself and my fellow commissioners I would like to offer our condolences for the loss of innocent life and wish the injured victims a speedy and full recovery,” Briggs continued.
“This indiscriminate violence will not be tolerated in the City of Los Angeles. Angelenos will not be terrorized in their homes, businesses, or going about their daily activities. The individual involved in this senseless crime will be found and brought to justice, and it is my hope that the District Attorney will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” Briggs said.
