Woman dies in shooting

Jen Lawson

Monday, Feb. 3, 2003 | 11:24 a.m.

Metro Police detectives were investigating a shooting this morning that left a 37-year-old woman dead and two men injured in a parking lot at Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue.

A dispute began shortly before 4 a.m. in front of the El Sinaloense nightclub in the Commercial Center shopping complex in the 900 block of East Sahara Avenue, Metro Lt. Tom Monahan said.

Those involved in the dispute -- at least five people -- confronted each other again outside the nearby El Matador Mexican restaurant at Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue.

Police found a rifle at the scene.

A woman sitting in a Ford Explorer had been shot once in the chest. She was pronounced dead at 4:44 a.m. at University Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.

One of the shooting victims, a 19-year-old man, was driven in a PT Cruiser to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, about a half-mile from the shooting. He was later transferred to University Medical Center, according to Sunrise officials. He suffered a gunshot wound in the chest and was in critical condition on life support systems this morning.

Another man, a 34-year-old, suffered a grazing wound to his abdomen. Metro Sgt. Rick Barela said he ran from the scene to the hospital, where he was treated and released.