Two shot outside Little Tokyo nightclub
Two men were shot by a masked gunman as they stood smoking cigarettes in front of a nightclub in Little Tokyo early Saturday morning, police said.
Los Angeles Police Lt. Paul Vernon said both victims were in critical condition after surgery following the shooting outside Vault XXI Boutique Lounge, at 333 S. Alameda St.
“We’re lucky more people were not injured in this attack,” Vernon said. “It appears the victims were targeted by the suspect as they stood at the entrance to the nightclub.”
Witnesses said a man wearing a ski mask walked into the courtyard from the sidewalk on Alameda Street about 1:30 a.m., barked out a short phrase and started shooting. Two men in their mid-20s who were smoking at the entrance to the nightclub were the apparent targets, Vernon said. Both fell from multiple gunshot wounds and crawled into the club.
Vernon said the shooter ran back to Alameda, then north toward 3rd Street. Witnesses described him as wearing a beige hat similar to the popular mini-fedoras, a dark flannel shirt and jeans.
Detectives examined the scene and noted more than half a dozen shell casings from a semiautomatic handgun.
“There’s a number of people out there who do know who did this,” Vernon said. “We’d hope they would come forward right away.”
Investigators did not immediately identify the two victims.
At midday Saturday, blood was still visible on the nightclub’s stylized entryway. Shattered glass in a doorway window was covered by an advertising poster, and a nearby metal door and wall appeared to be nicked by bullets.
A few steps away, an artificial waterfall gurgled from the side of a bamboo-screened parking structure. Shoppers and workers at the Little Tokyo Galleria mall where the club is located were surprised to learn of the attack.
“The shooting? It’s Wednesday,” said a clerk at Beard Papa’s cream puff shop. She quickly explained that she was talking about a music video that is scheduled to be shot at the mall in a few days.
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