Suspect Arrested in Los Angeles Shooting Was Gang Member

LOS ANGELES – The man arrested Thursday in a shooting the previous day at a Los Angeles bus stop was a 24-year-old gang member aiming at two rivals, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in an evening news conference.

The shooting Wednesday evening injured three adults and five children, one of whom is still hospitalized, Police Chief William Bratton said, adding that the suspect, Billy Ray Hines, was arrested Thursday less than a half mile from the scene of the shooting.

Bratton said Hines would be charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, and police are seeking the communities help in identifying and locating the two people who were the shooter's primary targets.

The eight victims were bystanders when a gunman opened fire on another person after a dispute Wednesday afternoon, Bratton said earlier.

Police said the intended targets were not hit as bullets flew through the crowded inner-city intersection.

Police and fire officials initially reported that the child victims were four girls and a boy. On Thursday police changed that to three boys and two girls. Some victims' ages were also adjusted.

Only one victim, a 12-year-old girl with a chest wound, remained hospitalized Thursday, but "she's going to be fine," Officer Karen Smith said.

Smith said six others were treated at hospitals and released: a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the arm; two 12-year-old boys with leg wounds; a 15-year-old boy who was grazed in the thigh; a 43-year-old man with a wounded knee; and a woman, 48, who was shot in the face.

A 68-year-old man was treated at the scene for a wound to his right arm, she said.

After the shooting streets in the area, which includes a strip mall and a Jack In the Box restaurant, were shut down, with police officers swarming the scene.

Police estimated that 100 people — motorists, shoppers and students — were in the area at the time.

The shooting occurred at Central and Vernon avenues, about two miles southeast of Memorial Coliseum.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.