Family mourns, honors Norwalk man, 44, killed in shooting spree
LA MIRADA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man has been identified after being shot Saturday in a shooting spree that authorities said was committed by two suspects in Pico Rivera, Whittier and La Mirada. Three other victims were injured.
Norwalk resident Jose Ricardo Sahagun, 44, was identified as the deceased person by the Los Angeles County coroner's office on Sunday. An autopsy is pending.
The apparently random sequence of events originated with a carjacking that was reported about 3 p.m. in Pico Rivera, said a spokesperson for L.A. County Sheriff' Department.
About 3:30 p.m., officers responded to a shooting that took place in an alley behind the 14900 block of Whittier Boulevard, according to the Whittier Police Department. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound that was not life-threatening.
"Shortly thereafter, officers received a second call in the area of Colima Road and Lambert Road in regards to another shooting that had just occurred," the agency said in a statement. In that incident, a vehicle was struck by gunfire and its occupants were treated at the scene.
According to investigators, a man was wounded about 4 p.m. in a parking lot at Santa Gertrudes Avenue and Imperial Highway in La Mirada.
Sahagun and another person were shot ten minutes later in the area of Santa Gertrudes Avenue and Alicante Road, near the La Mirada golf course.
Sahagun was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. The other victim in that shooting sustained a non-life-threatening injury.
The suspects were described only as a man and woman in a green Nissan Pathfinder. The vehicle was discovered in Whittier's Mayberry Park, located about 3 miles northwest of Biola University.
Authorities were also investigating a shooting that happened about 8:30 p.m. at a Budget Inn in the 13400 block of Firestone Boulevard in Santa Fe Springs. A man and a woman were transported to UCI Medical center in unknown conditions after being shot at that location.
Whittier police arrested a male and female who were in a stolen car and matched the description of the suspects in the earlier shootings, according to a news release issued by the sheriff' department.
Investigators have not confirmed whether the incident at the hotel was connected to the shooting spree in the Gateway Cities.
Authorities said another shooting, on the Carmenita Road overpass at the 5 Freeway, was related to the one at the Budget Inn. No other details were immediately disclosed.
