March 21--Authorities are continuing to search for the suspects involved in a car-to-car shooting in Hawthorne early Sunday that left one man dead and two others injured.
The three men and one woman were returning home after a church function in Torrance when a dark-colored sedan pulled up and opened fire on the victims' Volkswagen Jetta about 2:15 a.m., Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said.
The male driver of the Jetta, who was described by relatives as a 21-year-old from Victorville, was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The two male passengers were also struck in the upper torso and taken to a hospital. Their condition was not immediately known.
The female passenger was not hit, authorities said.
The group had been traveling east on Rosecrans Avenue and were about to make a left onto Crenshaw Boulevard when the sedan pulled alongside and fired multiple shots at their vehicle, said sheriff's Lt. Steve Jauch. The sedan then fled eastward on Rosecrans.
Family and friends gathered around the crime scene at the usually busy intersection Sunday morning. They watched from across the street as the victim's parents spoke to investigators near the gray Jetta, which had crashed into a guard rail overlooking the Dominguez Channel.
The victims' car remained in the parking lot outside the Lucky Star Cafe, its windows completely blown out, until it was towed away shortly after 11 a.m.
The shooting occurred near the border between Gardena and Hawthorne. Mourners placed votive candles, with images of St. Jude and the Virgin Mary, on a large concrete sign that read, "Thank you for visiting Gardena."
The deceased victim, who was a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, had recently completed two years of missionary service that is often undertaken by young parishioners, a relative said.
"He's a good boy," said a man who identified himself as the victim's uncle by marriage. "It was a shock for everybody."
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The victim had attended a dance for young Latter-day Saints members in Torrance earlier in the evening, the man said. He and the others in the car had eaten dinner afterward and appeared to be heading for the freeway to return to San Bernardino County when the shooting occurred.
"Good people die like this, sometimes you wonder, and ask why," said another man, who declined to be identified other than as a family member.
The father of the victim declined to give his name, citing the ongoing investigation and fears of reprisal.
"Just trying to prevent anything else from happening," he said.
Authorities said they have no description of the assailants, and it's not known whether the incident was gang-related.
"Anything's possible; we just do not know the motive," Jauch said. It's also unclear how many people were in the shooter's car, he said.
Authorities will be reviewing footage from surveillance cameras in the area in the hopes that those would help identify the suspects or their vehicle.
Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call "Crime Stoppers" at (800) 222-8477.
