Search continues for suspects in San Pedro beach shooting that left 5 wounded

Los Angeles police on Sunday were searching for two suspects who opened fire the evening before on a group gathered for a San Pedro beach barbecue, wounding five, two of them critically.

The two male suspects approached the group of 10 to 20 people at Royal Palms Beach near Paseo del Mar and Grayby Avenue at about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, police said. There was a physical altercation, and at least one of the suspects flashed a handgun, fired multiple rounds and fled in a car, said Officer Drake Madison, a spokesman with the Los Angeles Police Department.

All five male victims were taken to the hospital. Two were listed in critical condition, two in serious condition and one was stable, police said.

A motive for the shooting has not been established.

LAPD spokesman Warren Moore on Saturday said that one suspect fled the scene in a gray sedan, driving along Paseo del Mar. Moore said the suspect was a man in his 20s with a buzz haircut, wearing all black, including a black mask, and was believed to have fired a semiautomatic handgun.

Officials closed Royal Palms Beach on Sunday as they continued their investigation. In a statement, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn and L.A. City Councilman Tim McOsker said that going forward, the beach will close earlier on weekends, “as we work on plans together to ensure safety and peaceful community use.”

On Sunday, visitors to Paseo del Mar, overlooking the ocean, were startled to find the beach closed.

Goran Jovicic, 37, said San Pedro is “a good town” to live in, and he is not concerned about the threat of crime.

In July, two people were killed and several were injured when gunfire erupted during a dispute at a softball game at San Pedro’s Peck Park, three miles north of Royal Palms Beach.

Despite the shootings, Jovicic prefers San Pedro to more populated areas of Los Angeles County because it “has maintained a small-town feel in a wider city,” he said.

“I feel totally safe,” Jovicic added, noting that locals believe that the Peck Park shooting was instigated by outsiders.

“Overall, there’s more crime in California,” he said, “yet it seems we chose the right place.”

With the beach closed, Steve Koletty and his wife, Honey, were out for a walk with Gobi, their husky mix, and Hoku, their shepherd mix. The couple, who have lived in San Pedro for more than 30 years, had heard about Saturday’s shooting but were not overly concerned.

Koletty said there are inherent risks that come with living in greater L.A.

“There are gangs here, and likely there are old disputes,” said the geography professor, who is in his 70s. Still, he savors living in what’s considered a “blue-collar, dockworker-tradition sort of town.”

“To live in L.A., you need to understand there’s always activity,” Koletty said. “Yet, usually, even people who don’t agree with each other give each other space when you’re on the beach.”