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Public Safety

Man, Woman Shot While Driving On I-8 In El Cajon

A California Highway Patrol car is pictured in this undated photo.
Tarryn Mento
A California Highway Patrol car is pictured in this undated photo.

A 30-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman were hospitalized Tuesday with gunshot wounds to their legs after their car was struck by gunfire on Interstate 8 in La Mesa.

California Highway Patrol officers were investigating the circumstances leading up to the shooting, which occurred on the eastbound side of the freeway near state Route 125 around 9:30 p.m. Monday, including whether the victims were specifically targeted, CHP Officer Travis Garrow said.

The man and the woman, who were in a Nissan Sentra, exited the freeway at El Cajon Boulevard and pulled over at a gas station near the intersection of El Cajon Boulevard and West Washington Avenue, Garrow said.

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Paramedics took the victims to Sharp Memorial Hospital in Kearny Mesa, the officer said. Both victims were treated for gunshot wounds to their lower extremities, Garrow said, adding that they were both stable.

A section of I-8 was closed for several hours for officers to investigate the shooting. The freeway was reopened at 12:35 a.m.

A description of the shooter was not released, but the suspect vehicle was described as a white or silver newer-model SUV, Garrow said.

Anyone with information about the shooting was urged to call the CHP's El Cajon office at 619-401-2000.

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