‘Something you see in the movies’: Motorcyclist opens fire on L.A. freeway motorist

A motorcycle-riding gunman opened fire on a motorist on the 210 Freeway in Sylmar early Thursday, wounding the man in the arm, Los Angeles police said.

In the predawn darkness, two motorcyclists began following the victim, who was driving westbound in a white pickup truck on his way to work, said Capt. Robert Marino of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Mission Community Station. At about 4:10 a.m., near Roxford Street, one of the bikers began shooting.

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The shooter hit the victim’s truck numerous times, police said. To avoid the bullets, the man pulled his truck off the freeway, but he was hit in the arm. The victim, who is believed to be in his 50s, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Marino said.

Police detectives said that firing shots from a moving motorcycle, especially at high speeds, is extremely difficult because the motorcyclist must keep the bike steady while discharging the weapon.

“It is not something I have seen before in my career,� said LAPD Capt. Andrew Neiman, a spokesman for the department. “It is something you see in the movies, but it is not something you see in reality.�

The shooting victim was shielding himself from gunfire and did not get a good look at the shooters, although he thought they were on dark-colored motorcycles, Marino said.

The motive was unclear.

“There’s no indication there was any issue with traffic,� Marino said. “There was no road-rage incident here.�

The victim, whose name has not been released, was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, said LAPD Officer John Burdios. Authorities said he was expected to be released Thursday afternoon and that he had been talking with detectives.

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The California Highway Patrol closed the westbound freeway for about two hours Thursday morning. Investigators scoured the roadway, searching for evidence connected to the shooting, such as shell casings, authorities said.

Burdios said there was another incident in the area in which a vehicle crashed and spilled diesel fuel.

ABC7 reported that a truck trying to avoid the road closure crashed and was hanging over a bridge, leaking diesel fuel.

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UPDATES:

12:12 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout.

6:34 a.m.: This article was updated information about the lanes being reopened.

This article was originally published at 6:15 a.m.