The shooting occurred at about 10:08 p.m. in the 3400-block of South California Avenue.
Alfredo Lopez knows it was a close call. He was inside the neighborhood gas station when a group of armed attackers opened fire on a man they'd chased into the convenience store there.
"Out of nowhere, all I hear are gunshots, but I didn't think they were gunshots," Lopez said. "Like pow, then pow, pow - it wasn't like straight gunshots."
Lopez said he'd stopped at the Thorntons gas station and decided to pick up some ice cream on his way home. When he went to the register to pay for his snack, the unthinkable happened.
Just then, investigators said a man being chased by four attackers ran into the store. Police said two of them were shooting at him.
Investigators said the target of the hit, a 25-year-old man, was critically wounded, and was shot in the stomach and both legs.
"I guess they were really trying to look because they shot from the side of the building and the front, hit a couple employees. So, I guess they were determined to get the person," Lopez said.
Two gas station employees, a 26-year-old man and 25-year-old man, were also wounded, police said.
The 26-year-old employee was shot in the mouth and taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was in critical condition. The 25-year-old employee was shot in the back, and taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in good condition.
Meanwhile, Lopez ran for his life.
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"So, I looked to my left, and that's when they started shooting," Lopez said. "The glass broke. I saw the employee who unfortunately got shot here, I seen him go down."
He said he's a frequent customer there; so, he knew the way out.
"How did I know the doors were in the back? Just because I always come to this gas station, and I, like, always absorb my surroundings. I just want to see everything. My first reaction was just take a left, go back straight ahead and just get out of there," Lopez said.
Lopez ran to safety, and returned to get his car once he knew it was safe.
And while he was shaken by the shooting, he credits his faith for sparing him.
"I believe in God. So, I think God was on my side right there, and told me to take my time," Lopez said. "I'm glad I made it because I could have been one of people that got shot."
No one is in custody, and Area One detectives are investigating.
The gas station has been closed Wednesday, and barricades were put up during the afternoon.
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