Santa Monica police said suspects from one party bus started shooting at victims in another party bus at about 1 a.m. near Ocean and Colorado avenues.
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"One of the buses had a group of people that got off the bus, got into an altercation of some sort with another group that was on another bus that was directly parked behind it, at which point shots were fired," explained Lt. Saul Rodriguez, of Santa Monica police.
Officers determined that after an argument between a person from the first bus and people from a second bus parked on Ocean Avenue, suspects from the second bus fired multiple shots at the first bus, striking three victims on board and another on Ocean Avenue.
The driver of the bus that was shot at drove to a nearby police station with the wounded passengers, who were celebrating a birthday at the time of the shooting.
Police said the three victims on the bus were treated and transported to a local hospital. A fourth victim suffered minor injuries.
One of the transported victims later died from her injuries, police said.
Witness William Miller said gunshots rang out and people panicked.
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"We just hear a barrage of gunshots and then it was just pandemonium after that. Everyone just started darting in each way," he said.
Immediately after the shooting, police said, about two to three suspects ran westbound in nearby Palisades Park and jumped over a railing toward Pacific Coast Highway. Descriptions of the suspects were not immediately released.
Investigators recovered four weapons -- two on the suspect bus and two others in bushes near PCH. No suspects were in custody as of Saturday morning.
Police said they do not believe the two groups knew each other.
Anyone with information on the suspects or the shooting was asked to contact the Santa Monica Police Department.