Authorities are searching for a suspect believed to be involved in two separate shootings Tuesday in Lynwood and Gardena that left two people dead and several injured, law enforcement officials said.

In the first incident, a woman was shot in the throat and pronounced dead at the scene around 4 a.m. in the 1200 block of West 135th Street near Budlong Avenue in Gardena, officials said.

Three other people were injured in the shooting, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman who is believed to be the suspect’s girlfriend, according to investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The woman was shot in the neck and right shoulder, and was transported to a local hospital where she and her unborn child are expected to make a full recovery.

The other victims are a male who was shot in the throat and a female who sustained abrasions to her knees, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Both are also expected to make a full recovery.


The second fatal shooting victim was found on the southbound 710 Freeway at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 4:40 a.m. and is believed to be connected to the first incident, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials said.

The shooting incident in Gardena occurred after the suspect became angry with friends he was visiting there, investigators learned later Tuesday. The suspect then left the site of the first shooting with two passengers, a male and female, and started driving.

Once they reached the 710 Freeway at the Martin Luther King Boulevard ramp in Lynwood, the suspect shot the male passenger. He then pulled the male passenger out of the vehicle, left him on the highway and fled the scene in a black KIA Soul, investigators said.

The female passenger was able to escape unharmed.


Anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Twitter: @melissaetehad

UPDATES:


2 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details on the chronology of the shootings.

10:55 a.m.: This article was updated to include details on the killing on the 710 Freeway.

1:40 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from law enforcement officials about how the shootings took place.

10:30 a.m. This article was updated with new information from law enforcement and fire officials.


This article was originally published at 8:30 a.m.