A mother and daughter were hospitalized after a shooting late Sunday at a bus stop west of downtown Los Angeles.
The shots were fired from a vehicle in the Pico-Union area just before midnight. The mother was in critical, but stable condition after being shot twice in the stomach. Her teenage daughter has returned home from the hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the leg and was in stable condition.
A car with three men approached the daughter and her friend, both 16 years old. Police said the men first offered the girls marijuana, which they refused, and then asked if they were a part of a gang.
The girls denied that they were members of a gang, at which time one of the men in the car told them that if in fact they did not have any gang affiliation, then they should call somebody to come vouch for them to prove that they weren't actually gang members, said Detective John Motto of the LAPD Rampart Division.
Police said the girls then called the mother, who lived nearby.
The mother responded to the bus stop to wait with the girls when an argument ensued between the mother and the male suspects. One of the males took out a handgun from his waistband and immediately began firing, Motto said.
"We hear some lady saying, 'No. Stop, please!' She was nervous," said resident George Diego, who heard the gunshots.
Police said the incident could have been worse because the mother had brought her young daughter with her.
It was not immediately clear how many rounds were fired.
No arrests were reported. Police said the suspected vehicle was a blue sedan but a detailed description was not available.
