1 Killed, 2 Hurt in Gunfight at Bar

A bystander was killed and a security guard and a suspected gunman were wounded in a gunfight that broke out in a Van Nuys bar Monday, Los Angeles police said.

Julio Caesar Lopez, 20, of Lake View Terrace was pronounced dead at the El Paraiso, in the 13000 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, Los Angeles Police Detective Woodrow Parks said.

Lopez was not involved in the fight that erupted about 12:15 a.m. between two other bar customers, one of whom was shot in the upper torso. The wounded man, Enrique Acevedo, 32, of Van Nuys was arrested in the street as he tried to flee, Parks said, and was being held on suspicion of murder at County-USC Medical Center jail ward, where he was listed in stable condition.

Parks said investigators had not yet identified the second man involved in the argument. Information also was not immediately available on who shot Acevedo, but it was not police, Detective Robert Bogison said.

An El Paraiso security guard who intervened in the argument was shot three times but not seriously wounded, Parks said. The guard, whose name was not released, was treated at Holy Cross Medical Center for minor injuries. The bullets were apparently deflected by parts of his uniform--a pistol belt, a wallet and a flashlight--Bogison said.