Two Wounded in Shooting Near Venice Beach Skatepark

Two men were shot and wounded Wednesday night after being shot near the Venice Beach skatepark, police said.

The shooting occurred about 6:25 p.m. when four black men approached two male Hispanics in their 20s who were hanging out on the walls near the skatepark, said Lt. Paola Kreefft of the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division.

Five shots were fired from an automatic weapon and one man was shot twice in the upper torso and the other was shot in the shoulder, Kreefft said. The man shot in the upper torso was undergoing surgery and the other victim had a non-life threatening injury, Kreefft said.

"We are obviously investigating all possible angles. It could be gang-related, it could have been a random shooting, or something that we're not aware of," Kreefft said.

The four suspects fled on foot and police set up a perimeter as they searched for them. A large swath of the Venice Beach boardwalk was closed starting north of Windward Avenue as police investigated the shooting.

Police were still searching for the suspects about 8 p.m. and no one was in custody.

The two victims fled the area on foot after being shot. One made it up Windward Avenue toward the Bank of America and the other to Market Avenue and Ocean Front Walk, Kreefft said.

The skatepark closes at sundown and was not open when the shooting occurred.