Ég fann fréttina, nenni ekki að þýða hana svo ég nota bara copy/paste :)

Published: Friday, August 16, 2002


One killed, two wounded at Irwindale Speedway drag racing event


Associated Press

IRWINDALE, Calif. – A gunman opened fire on spectators at a legal drag racing event at the Irwindale Speedway, killing one person and injuring two others, police said Friday.
Ramon Reyes, 19, of Los Angeles was stopped in a car heading out of the speedway following the shooting and was booked for investigation of murder, Cpl. John Falone said.

Four other people in the car were detained for questioning but they apparently did not know Reyes was the suspected gunman, he added.

As many as 3,000 people were watching the races shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday when a man in the grandstands got into an argument with another spectator.

Words or looks were exchanged “which escalated into calling each other names, yelling at each other, pushing, shoving, fighting, and then a brawl,” Falone said.

As many as 20 people became involved in shoving matches, he said. During the melee, Reyes allegedly pulled a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun.

Leo Elder, 36, of Los Angeles 3/8 was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at a hospital. Steve Chavez, 18, of Los Angeles suffered a minor leg wound from a stray bullet but was not hospitalized.

The shooting caused the grandstands to begin emptying. As the gunman walked down the steps he kept firing at the crowd, firing a total of four or five bullets, Falone said.

Kimberly Garcia, 17, of Los Angeles was hit by a stray shot. She underwent surgery for a gunshot wound in her abdomen and was listed in serious but stable condition Friday at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, spokeswoman Adelaida De La Cerda said.

The gunman apparently did not know the victims, Falone said.

Reyes walked to the parking lot and got a ride with acquaintances who were leaving the speedway in a Chevy sport utility vehicle but witnesses identified him as the shooting suspect and the car was stopped before it left the grounds, he said.

There were police officers and security guards at the track but security did not include body searches or metal detectors.

However, the shooting remained under investigation and security measures will be re-examined, Falone said.

The speedway was hosting “Thursday T-N-T,” a cooperative program between law enforcement agencies and the National Hot Rod Association aimed at attracting illegal street racers to compete in street-legal drag racing.

The program has been operating for several months and there have been no reports of any violence since its inception, police Chief Joe DeLadurantey said.

“We haven't had any problems until tonight,” DeLadurantey said. “It's a pretty diverse crowd. The event brings out not only the racers but the spectators as well.”

The raceway is 25 miles east of Los Angeles.