2 SHOT AFTER STUDIO CITY TRAFFIC ALTERCATION.

Byline: Douglas Haberman Daily News Staff Writer

A man was shot in the face and another man was shot in the foot during a ``road rage'' dispute on Ventura Boulevard early Sunday morning, police said.

The unidentified victims were driving northbound on Laurel Canyon Boulevard around 3 a.m. when they cut in front of a black and gray Mercedes SL. They pulled into a parking lot on Ventura Boulevard, where the Mercedes followed, said Officer Don Cox, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Two men got out of the Mercedes and confronted the victims, Cox said. One of the suspects fired three shots with a semiautomatic handgun into the passenger-side window of the victims' car, wounding one in the head above the eye and the other victim in the foot, Cox said.

Paramedics took the victims to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis.

A hospital nursing supervisor had no information about the men's condition Sunday evening.

No suspects were in custody, Cox said.

Road rage incidents occur more frequently on freeways than on surface streets but they're not uncommon anywhere in the Los Angeles area anymore, Cox said.

Vulgar hand gestures often infuriate already angry drivers, so Cox suggests that a driver facing a hostile motorist should keep cool, pull over and let the other vehicle move on.

``It's all about how you respond to these things,'' he said.

If the other car follows you, Cox recommends driving to a well-lighted area with many people around or trying to find a police officer if possible.