Man with Baby Shot in Upscale LA Area

A man was shot at midday while walking with his wife and baby on Norton Avenue in West Hollywood. (abc7.com) Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said the shooting was reported at 12:07 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in the 7900 block of Norton Avenue near Fairfax Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. The man, described by NBC Los Angeles as being in his 40s, was hit in the leg and taken to a hospital in stable condition. (ktla.com, nbclosangeles.com) NBC Los Angeles reported that the gunman walked up to the family and fired without speaking. Witnesses told ABC7 and FOX 11 they heard a single loud shot, then screaming, running, and a car speeding away. (nbclosangeles.com, abc7.com, foxla.com) The shooting came five days after another person was wounded in the same general area. In that April 9 case, deputies said a woman standing on a balcony in the 1000 block of North Vista Street was struck by gunfire and hospitalized in stable condition. (abc7.com, nbclosangeles.com, patch.com) Investigators had not said by April 15 whether the two shootings were connected. ABC7 said detectives were still treating that link as unknown, while NBC reported that the motive in the Norton Avenue attack was not immediately clear. (abc7.com, nbclosangeles.com) Neighbors told local television stations the violence rattled a part of West Hollywood they usually consider quiet. FOX 11 quoted one resident saying seniors in the area were scared, and ABC7 quoted another calling West Hollywood “usually a pretty safe place.” (foxla.com, abc7.com) Deputies said no suspect description had been released and no weapon had been recovered after the Norton Avenue shooting. Investigators were canvassing the neighborhood for evidence and surveillance video, according to NBC Los Angeles and KTLA. (nbclosangeles.com, ktla.com) Anyone with information was asked to contact detectives at the Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood Station. By late April 14, the shooter in the family attack and the suspect in the balcony shooting were both still being sought. (abc7.com, patch.com)