Pomona Shootings: Three Dead,Two Injured; Police Unsure If Killings Connected [Video]

There were a string of deadly shootings in Pomona over the weekend.
Police are investigating four shootings that left three men dead.

Homicide detectives investigating the incidents met on Monday morning to “compare notes.” Specifically they are trying to find out if there is any connection between the slayings, said Pomona police Lt. Eddie Vazquez.

The first shooting took place just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday. A car pulled alongside Jose Cerda, 45, as he was cycling near the intersection of Garey and Lexington avenues.

Police reported that someone inside the vehicle opened fired on Cerda, hitting him several times. Cerda died soon after.

Only two hours later, Isais Garcia Lopez, 24, and an 18-year-old youth were walking in an alley on Orchid Lane, when a gunman opened fire on them. Both men were hit many times and Lopez died in the alley.

The teen, whom police did not identify, managed to run a short distance before collapsing. He was airlifted to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, where he underwent surgery.

Then, early Sunday at about 2.00 a.m., more gunfire was heard. Police responded to reports of gun shots on Canterbury Avenue.

Officers found the street covered in spent shell casings and two vehicles holed by bullets. They also found a 29-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound in the leg. Police said threat the injury was non-life threatening, and they did not identify the man.

The last to die was Angel Bravo. Shortly before 3 a.m., Bravo, 29, left his home on Benedict Way to go to a store. Someone pulled up alongside Bravo in a car and opened fire. He was hit several times in the chest and died in the street. Police said the car may have been a white, compact model.

Unfortunately, bloodshed is not a novelty in Pomona, a city of about 150,000 inhabitants, 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

An almost identical string of apparently unconnected shootings in March this year, left four young men dead.

And, in April, two boys aged 13 and 16 were shot to death in the same alley on Orchid Lane where one of the fatal incidents occurred last night.

Detectives have requested that anyone with information about any of the latest Pomona shootings should call (909) 620-2085. Tips can be made anonymously by calling (800) 222-8477