Teen, Man Die in 2 Gunfire Incidents

In two separate incidents late Monday night, a man and a teenage boy died of multiple gunshot wounds and another man was wounded, leaving police with no motive in either case, authorities said.

At about 10:45 p.m. in North Hollywood, a 15-year-old boy was shot to death and his friend, a 22-year-old man, was wounded as the two stood on a second-story balcony at an apartment complex in the 13000 block of Vanowen Street, said Det. Mike Coffey of the LAPD’s North Hollywood Division.

By late Tuesday, police had yet to identify either victim, pending notification of their families.

The boy was shot several times in the upper body and died at the scene, Coffey said. The man, who was shot in the leg, was taken to an area hospital, where he was in serious condition.

They were shot by one or more semiautomatic weapons, Coffey said, and police are searching for at least two male suspects.

Coffey said a dark four-door sedan drove past the two, then swung around and returned. At least two men emerged from the car, walked toward the apartment and began shooting.

The wounded man told police he did not know the gunmen.

“We don’t know if it’s gang-related or not,” Coffey said. “We have no motives at this time.”

In the second incident, at about midnight in North Hills, a 21-year-old man died of multiple gunshot wounds after his car crashed into the wall of the Travel Inn Motel in the 8500 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, police said.

Jose Luis Hernandez of Van Nuys was driving a 1979 Nissan that crashed into the motel wall, continued across the parking lot and through a wrought-iron fence, police said.

Hernandez was found to have been shot multiple times in the upper body, police said, and he was taken to Mission Community Hospital, where he died.

“Apparently he was shot before he crashed into the motel,” said LAPD Officer Charlotte Broughton. “But we’re not sure where the shooting took place or the motive.”

Anyone with information on either case is asked to call LAPD Devonshire Division homicide detectives at (818) 756-8291 or North Hollywood Division detectives at (818) 623-4016.