Nightclub shooting leaves 1 dead, 2 wounded
A fight begins on the dance floor at Crash Mansion in downtown L.A. and erupts in gunfire in the parking lot.
A fight that began on the dance floor of a downtown nightclub early today ended in a parking lot melee that left one man shot to death and two others wounded, authorities said today.
Joseph Cosina, 19, of Downey was shot multiple times and died at California Hospital Medical Center about 2:30 a.m., Los Angeles Police Capt. Paul Vernon said.
The disagreement among men started near closing time on the dance floor of Crash Mansion in the 1000 block of South Grand Avenue, Vernon said. After a woman was stabbed in the arm inside the nightclub, a large number of patrons left the club shortly before 1:30 a.m., he said.
"One man with a gun fired several rounds toward at least three men," Vernon said. "Those three were all hit, one fatally in the chest, one in the stomach and one in the leg."
Vernon said the men who were wounded were in their early 20s. They also were taken to California Hospital. Vernon did not release their names. The woman who was stabbed was treated at the same facility and released, he said.
"This kind of activity, especially on a Thursday night like this, is a little out of the ordinary given the ages of the people mostly involved here," Vernon said, saying the majority of patrons appeared to be 18 to 20.
He said the shooting did not appear to be gang-related.
Officers interviewing witnesses said patrons under 21 appeared to have been drinking.
"We will be looking closely at the business practices here with our vice unit and the city attorney's office," Vernon said. "We've had other disturbances at this same location before it closed down under the name Grand Avenue Club."
Cosina's death was the first homicide of the year in downtown.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the LAPD's Central Homicide Unit at (213) 972-1254 or a 24-hour hotline (877) LAWFULL (529-3855).
susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com
