WEST COVINA — A gunman killed one man and wounded his brother during a fight outside a Halloween party early Sunday, authorities said.
Ramiro Limon Jr., 27, of East Los Angeles died at the scene of the shooting, which took place just before 1 a.m. at the intersection of Shadydale Avenue and Roxbury Street, Los Angeles County coroner’s officials said.
His brother, 40-year-old Rodrigo Ruiz of East Los Angeles, was shot in the hand, West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said. He was hospitalized and is expected to recover.
The shooting occurred as a Halloween house party was winding down, Lopez said.
“The party was breaking up, and apparently a fight ensued between the victims and the suspects,” he said.
“During he fight, the (shooter) went to his vehicle and retrieved a handgun and fired several shots, hitting both victims,” police said in a written statement.
The shooter, described only as a male Latino, then got into the passenger side of a dark-colored vehicle with a female driver and several other male passengers and fled the scene, Lopez said.
A second suspect was also involved in the fight, but Lopez said it was not clear if that other suspect — also described only as a male Latino — fled with the shooter or if they split up.
No further suspect descriptions were available.
Police Sunday afternoon were working to sort through conflicting witness statements.
Authorities believe as many as 50 people attended the party, and detectives were working to interview as many of them as possible.
A man who answered a door near where the shooting took place said the party occurred at his house, but the shooting took place in the street. He declined to comment further.
Mary Dugan, who lives on Roxbury Street, said she arrived home about 1 a.m. — just minutes after the shooting — from a Halloween party herself.
She saw a body lying in the street, covered by a white sheet. Her house was blocked off by police crime scene tape, and officers told her she could not return until the morning.
Dugan said she was allowed back in her home about 9:30 a.m.
“They’re always having parties over there,” she said, but the gatherings had never before erupted in violence.