Cops Arrest L.A. Bus Stop Shooting Suspect

Man Allegedly Opened Fire On Kids, Adults In South Los Angeles, Wounding 8 People

(AP)  Los Angeles authorities say a suspected gang member is the gunman who fired into a crowd at a bus stop Wednesday, wounding eight people. The victims included five children.

The suspect has been identified as Billy Ray Hines. A police spokesman says Hines is a known member of the Crips gang.

Hines was booked for investigation of attempted murder and police say they plan to ask prosecutors to file 10 counts of attempted murder because he was trying to shoot two people he missed.

The shooting was the second major outbreak of gang violence in Los Angeles in a week. A February 21st shootout between police officers and alleged gang members in the city's northeast area left one gunman dead and another wounded.

Only one of the victims remains hospitalized, but is expected to live.

Armed with a semiautomatic handgun, the man apparently was aiming at somebody, but missed his target and shot others at the bus stop just after schools let out Wednesday, Lt. Ruben De La Torre said at the scene.

The shooting occurred around 3:15 p.m. at Central and Vernon avenues, a busy intersection filled with shoppers, motorists and students. Two of the victims ran away and were found wounded outside a nearby middle school, police Officer Sara Faden said.

The gunman ran away after firing the shots, she said.

Four were critically wounded, including a 10-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl and a 49-year-old woman, said Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies.

A 12-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and two men, ages 48 and 68, had minor injuries.

"Now all of them are stable and expected to recover from their wounds," De La Torre said.

Streets in the area, which includes a strip mall and a Jack In the Box restaurant, were shut down, with police officers swarming the crime scene.

Ezequiel Cornejo, 23, a tire mechanic, said he heard about 10 gunshots, probably from a handgun.

"After that I saw a little girl running, she was running back to the school, she was holding her arm," he said.

Police were investigating various scenarios, including witness testimonies that the gunman stepped off a bus and started firing at the crowd. However, some witnesses said they saw two men arguing in the Jack In the Box behind the bus stop. One man left the restaurant, and when the other one stepped out the first man fired at him.

"It's childish, they could have talked it out or something" 17-year-old Keisha Willis said of the men.

Detectives were sorting out testimonies from the victims and witnesses, De La Torre said.