Two Men Shot in Pico Neighborhood

By Jorge Casuso

March 5 -- Two young men were wounded by gunshots in a gang-riddled section of the Pico Neighborhood Tuesday night, and residents of the area fear a surge in graffiti could signal more violence to come.

The two victims -- an 18-year-old Santa Monica resident and a 19-year-old resident of Los Angeles -- were walking westbound on the 1600 block of Michigan Avenue when a "dark-colored, possibly maroon-colored vehicle drove alongside them," police said.

"A passenger fired shots in the direction of the pedestrians wounding two," said Lt. P.J. Guido, a spokesman for the department. "A third subject was not injured."

One victim was wounded in the leg, the other in the arm, Guido said. A friend drove them to a local hospital, where they were treated and released.

The suspect has been described as a male Hispanic, 26 to 27 years old, wearing a blue baseball cap, police said. There is no further description.

"The victims are not associated with street gangs," Guido said, but he added that police are not ruling out that the incident could be gang-related.

A source who knows the victims said Wednesday that the two were walking home from Memorial Park after watching a friend's baseball game.

Residents of the area said they have noticed an increase in graffiti in the Pico Neighborhood. Some of the markings bear the number 187 -- the penal code number for homicide -- before a name. The marking reportedly indicates that the person is being targeted.

According to one source, one of the victim's names was scrawled on numerous walls preceded by the code number.