Gunfire Breaks Out in Troubled Pocket of Pico Neighborhood

By Jorge Casuso

May 19 -- Gunfire broke out in the Pico neighborhood for the second straight day Monday, but no one was reported hurt in the drive-by shootings that took place two blocks apart in daylight, police said.

Police said it has not been determined if the incidents were gang related.

“It’s too early to say what the natures (of the shootings) are,“ said Lt. Frank Fabrega, the police department spokesman.

The latest incident took place Monday shortly before 5 p.m. on the 1900 block of 20th Street. Witnesses told police they heard several shots fired and described the suspects as two male blacks in a small vehicle.

The shots came one day after two male Hispanics driving southbound on 17th Street near Michigan Avenue shortly before 2 p.m. approached several subjects standing on the sidewalk and opened fire, police said.

“As they drove by, one passenger fired several shots,” Fabrega said. It has not been determined if anyone was hit, he said.

The driver was described as a male Hispanic between 20 and 25. His head was shaved, and he was wearing a white T-shirt.

The passenger was described as a male Hispanic around 19 or 20. He had short black hair and was wearing a T-shirt.

The suspects’ vehicle was described as a black, older model Chevy Suburban with alloy rims.

The two incidents come a little more than one week after police received a report of shots fired on the 1800 block of 17th Street shortly after 9 p.m.

“At least two shots were fired,” Fabrega said. “No suspects were seen, and no one was injured.”

The area has been the scene of numerous shootings during recent years, some of them gang-related.