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Two men were shot by a ski-masked gunman early Saturday morning "as they stood in front of The Vault XXI, a boutique lounge club in Little Tokyo," according to a LAPD news release.
“We’re lucky more people were not injured in this attack,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, commanding officer of the Central Detective Division. “It appears the victims were targeted by the suspect as they stood at the entrance to the nightclub.” Around 1:30 AM, witnesses described a man, wearing a ski mask, walk into the courtyard from the sidewalk on Alameda Street and start shooting after he barked out a short phrase. Two men in their mid-twenties who were smoking at the entrance to the nightclub were the apparent targets. Both fell from multiple gunshot wounds and crawled into the nightclub’s entrance.
Both victims were initially listed in critical condition after "being stabilized in surgery," however one of the victims, 29-year-old Jackie Hoang of Alhambra has reportedly died of his injuries at USC Los Angeles County Medical Center, according to KTLA.
More than a half dozen shell casings from a semi-automatic handgun were found by detectives at the scene.
