PASADENA >> Gunfire erupted at Villa Parke in Pasadena Saturday afternoon, but both the attackers and their intended targets fled the scene before police arrived, officials said.
The shooting took place about 1:50 p.m. along Garfield Avenue between Parke and Villa Streets, along the western edge of the park, Pasadena police Lt. John Mercado said.
“We received numerous calls of shots fired at the park,” he said.
Witnesses told police that the shooter approached a group of four to five men in their 20s or 30s on foot, Mercado said.
“There were words exchanged between the suspect and the victims, and then the suspect opened fire on them,” the lieutenant said.
The intended targets of the shooting scattered and ran, he said. The gunman ran north on Garfield Avenue and got into the front passenger seat of a waiting getaway car parked on Parke Street.
Officers were not able to find either the victims or suspects, Mercado said. No area hospital reported receiving no gunshot wound victims connected to the incident.
Mercado said the shooter was described as a man in his 20s, of unknown race, with a dark complexion, wearing a red baseball cap, red shorts and a white T-shirt. He was armed with a dark-colored, semi-automatic handgun.
The getaway car was a gray, early-2000s-model, four-door Nissan sedan, Mercado said. It was driven by a Latino man in his 20s, about 6 feet tall and 240 pounds, with “puffy” hair, wearing a gray T-shirt.
A third person also rode in a rear passenger seat of the vehicle, Mercado said. A detailed description was not available.
Anyone with information can reach Pasadena police at 626-744-4241. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.