At least 2 killed in party shooting at Northridge strip mall
A shooting at a crowded party in a strip mall lounge left at least two people dead in Northridge late Friday night, according to police.
The Los Angeles Police Department said officers arrived at the Artist Lounge on the 18000 block of Nordhoff Street, about half of a mile from CSU Northridge, at about 11:30 p.m. on reports of a loud party. The officers made contact with the organizers and told them to end the party when they heard the sound of multiple gunshots and saw a swarm of people fleeing the scene.
Officers entered the scene and found two people suffering from gunshot wounds. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The victims were identified only as a man and a woman between the ages of 18 and 25.
The LAPD said there's possibly one additional victim that officers were still searching for as of early Saturday morning.
The party was private and advertised on social media, police said. The motive remains unclear, and no arrests have been made; however, dozens of people were handcuffed and zip-tied before they were interviewed by police.
"It just all happened so fast; this guy pulls out a gun from his waist, and then goes at one person. 'Boom,'" said one witness. "Then he turns around to get another guy, but he like totally missed it and got somebody else in the back."
Cellphone video from inside the lounge showed people dancing when two loud gunshots were heard. People in the crowd then began to panic before the music stopped and people started scrambling to leave the crowded room.
"These two girls behind me, like, pulled me down and used me as cover," said Ledger Fuller, who was in the crowd at the time of the shooting. "I saw this girl fall down, I was like, 'Oh my God, someone got shot.'"
Police estimate there were more than 100 people inside when the shooting happened.
"Me and one of my friends were coming out of the bathroom, and then we heard like five gunshots, I think," said Shia Boberman. "We thought it was, like, balloons, because people were popping balloons. Then we saw everyone running, and we tried to run out."
In a statement made to CBS LA, the Artist Lounge, a party space rental company, sent its "thoughts and prayers" to the victims and their families.
"We are deeply saddened by the shooting that took place last night," the statement said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families."
