"It sounded like a machine gun, let's put it that way," said witness Joe Perez. "Six rounds real fast, had to be an automatic the way it went off."
With cars and bystanders all around, shots rang out around 7:10 a.m. The apparent target was a white pickup truck riddled with bullets. The suspect shot the vehicle at least nine times, striking the driver's window and shooting out the back window.
"The victim was shot multiple times. He tried to drive away from the area and collided with a pole here in the center divider," said LAPD officer Jorge Alfaro.
The shooting happened as the victim drove down Huntington Drive in El Sereno heading towards Monterey Road from Collis Avenue. The truck crashed at Huntington Drive and Monterey Road.
"It's too early to tell if it's gang-related or not," said Alfaro. "We're going to be looking into it."
The victim, identified as Charlie James Alvarez, 46, of Los Angeles was taken to USC Medical Center for treatment but did not survive his injuries.
"Unfortunately, we do have lot of shootings. Unfortunately, we have a lot of people shot in this area; it could happen anytime," said Alfaro. "We don't believe this was a random incident at this time."
Witnesses believe the shooter had to have shot from another car as opposed to being on foot. But those witnesses Eyewitness News spoke to said they didn't see one specific car speed away from the scene.
Police are hopeful witnesses can lead authorities to garner enough information to obtain a description of the suspect or suspects since the shooting occurred on such a busy street.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting was urged to contact the LAPD Homicide Division at (323) 342-8956.
