Friends mourn victims of Inglewood shooting
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Two men were killed, and three others were injured in a shooting in an Inglewood parking lot Saturday. Now, friends are mourning their loss, including one man who was on his way to meet up with the group before they were gunned down.
Looking at the shattered glass of the car window that was shot out, Claude Morris said "I came because five of my friends got shot yesterday afternoon."
"They were ambushed," Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. told FOX 11. Butts said the men were in the public Morningside parking lot when multiple suspects came out on foot after parking and fired at them from all directions. Butts said the victims were doing nothing wrong. One day after the shooting, the blood was still there, as were the pieces of glass. In the midst of it all, were candles and personal messages.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 2 killed, 3 others injured in Inglewood shooting
Morris said he and his friends hang out in this city parking lot all the time, and he was on his way to the lot when he saw the streets blocked off. What he couldn't see on the other side of the tape were his friends being treated by paramedics and being taken to a local hospital for treatment.
As the scene Sunday, Morris, who goes by JR, was in the lot still grieving.
"We were planning on having a barbeque, so I went and got steaks," he said. "I was going to bring steaks and grill up here, and I got a phone call saying police and fire trucks everywhere. I knew it was bad."
Morris said the men who were shot and killed were all over 50, one he said they called "Mouse." Morris left a candle and a card. He called Mouse a brave person. He said he'll miss Mouse. Another friend who goes by KP paid his respects Sunday as well.
"They were good people," KP said of the shooting victims Saturday. "Mouse had a family. He was a father. He was always a happy-go-lucky guy — good person."
Morris said of the five shot, "I love them dearly. Good friends, so, you know, it's just sad. Bad."
"These people were somebody," KP said. "And they belong to somebody and they were loved by everybody, and they deserve justice."
Police are still investigating the shooting, and have not released any information on any suspects.