(January 22, 2005) -- Gunfire shattered the night in ELB areas east and west of the Traffic Circle on Friday night/Saturday morning as two attempted murder suspects were arrested not far from where a man was shot to death barely three hours later.

LBPD has not indicated whether it considers the crimes formally related...but to residents experiencing the events and others familiar with the heavily travelled area, the violent crimes are related are clearly unnverving.

The homicide took place at about 12:00 a.m. Saturday Jan. 22. LBPD says it received a call regarding a possible gunshot victim in a parking lot in the 1800 block of Ximeno Ave. (near PCH). LBFD paramedics responded, treated the victim and transported him to a local hospital, where he died.

The victim is identified as Christopher Pendley, 24, of LB. LBPD says it has no motive for the shooting as we post.

Barely three hours earlier and not far to the west, LBPD arrested two suspects (an 18 yr old LB resident and a 14 year old from Norwalk) for attempted murder following a "shots fired" in the area of 17th St. and Obispo Ave.

LBPD says the victim -- a 14 year old boy -- was in an alley when the two suspects approached. One the suspects allegedly confronted the victim, words were exchanged, the the suspect allegedly produced a handgun and fired one round at the victim...striking him once in the right side of the head.

LBPD officers responding to the scenes were able to get a description of the suspects and set up a perimeter. "With extra resource in the area, the suspects were located in the perimeter and taken into custody within minutes," LBPD says in a written release, adding that witnesses identified the two suspects.

The victim was transported to a hospital in stable condition with what was believed to be a non-life threatening injury.