GUNFIRE ON CAMPUS TWO WOUNDED AS GUNMAN OPENS FIRE AT CANOGA PARK HIGH SCHOOL.Byline: Robert Monroe, Jason Kandel and Harrison Sheppard Staff Writers CANOGA PARK - In a brazen attack at Canoga Park High School's recreation field, a gunman fired as many as 10 shots Wednesday, wounding two people while girl softball players and parents watched in horror, police said. Investigators said the 6:15 p.m. attack was directed at three people waiting at the campus handball handball Any of a variety games in which a small rubber ball is struck against a wall with the hand or fist. It can be played in a three- or four-walled court or against a single wall by two or four players (in singles or doubles games, respectively). court at the end of Hart Street, about a block from Topanga Canyon Boulevard and near one of the largest shopping malls in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``It was very scary,'' said a terrified ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. grandmother who had been watching her 10-year-old granddaughter play softball. ``All the girls started screaming.'' One male was shot in the abdomen and was listed in stable condition, authorities said. Another male suffered a gunshot to the lower left leg, authorities said. The victims' identities were not immediately available. ``I think they were the intended targets,'' said Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . Detective Rick Swanston.
Police detained de·tain tr.v. de·tained, de·tain·ing, de·tains 1. To keep from proceeding; delay or retard. 2. To keep in custody or temporary confinement: several youths for questioning as they launched a manhunt man·hunt n. An organized, extensive search for a person, usually a fugitive criminal. manhunt Noun an organized search, usually by police, for a wanted man or fugitive Noun 1. in the neighborhood of apartment complexes. Witnesses were gathered to see whether they could make identifications. The victims were not students at the high school, police said. Although there have been no recent campus shootings in the Valley, a 17-year-old San Fernando High School San Fernando High School, located in San Fernando, California, is a secondary school that is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school colors are black and gold. All girl teams are referred to as Lady Tigers, all boy teams simply as Tigers. student was wounded in October outside the campus day care center. Wednesday's shooting had its roots earlier in the day when four to six African-American teen-agers and young adults fought with several Latino youths in an alley behind a nearby apartment complex, Swanston said. The two groups decided to meet near the school to settle the dispute, Swanston said. About 6:15 p.m., a gunman walked close to the courts and fired five to 10 rounds from a pistol, he said. ``We believe the shooting was done by one male suspect,'' Swanston said. It was not clear whether the fight and attack were racially motivated, Swanston said. ``As far as epithets, I think some were said, but I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if that was the motive yet.'' Full police response to the attack was delayed because of another incident in Encino in which a man had barricaded bar·ri·cade n. 1. A structure set up across a route of access to obstruct the passage of an enemy. 2. Something that serves as an obstacle; a barrier. See Synonyms at bulwark. tr.v. himself inside a home, said LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. West Valley Division Sgt. Jay Bender. The barricade incident, which ended peacefully, took up about 70 percent of his patrol units, he said. The Canoga High attack occurred in front of hundreds of people. Witnesses said a gunman walked down Hart Street and fired shots about 100 feet across Bell Creek and through a chain-link fence into the handball courts. Parents and spectators deluged 911 with calls from their cellular telephones. The girl softball players, ages 9 and 10, were playing about 40 yards away from the courts. And many residents living in apartment complexes across the street from the school said they saw the attack. ``He was aiming at people in the court over there,'' said a terrified parent. `It was like he knew who he wanted to shoot.'' Another parent said that when shots rang out, she ordered everyone to hit the ground. ``I was shocked. I couldn't believe it,'' said another parent. ``I came here to watch my daughter's game and the next thing I know, we're all taking cover.'' A woman living in a nearby apartment complex said she and her 9-year-old daughter heard gunshots and then saw a man who they thought might have been the gunman. ``I thought I saw one of the guys put something in his pocket and then go into the building,'' she said. ``I think he lives here. He walked out of the building and pretended like he was just part of the crowd.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos, map Photo: (1 -- 2) Police officers confer, above, at Canoga Park High School Canoga Park High School is a public school located in Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, USA, within the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is located right across the street from the Topanga Plaza shopping center. , where a gunman wounded two people Wednesday as softball players played nearby. Below, officers continue their investigation. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer Map: Site of shooting |
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