The brother of Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Josh Ravin was shot and wounded in Woodland Hills early today, and the suspect who may be known to police remained at large, according to police and broadcast reports.
The shooting happened about 1:45 a.m., near 22901 Vanowen St., LAPD Officer Mike Lopez said.
ABC7 identified the victim as Joel Ravin.
“A man in his 30s was shot multiple times,” Lopez said. “He was taken to a hospital in stable condition and remains in stable condition today.”
Police later confirmed Ravin is 30 years old.
Lopez said the gunman also was a man in his 30s.
Pitcher Josh Ravin posted several statements about his brother’s shooting on his Twitter account.
In his first statement on the attack posted around 9:30 a.m., Ravin wrote, “My brother was shot three times this morning by a mentally unstable person. We don’t need gun control. We need mental health control.”
About 12:30 p.m., Ravin posted again, “I do not know any details on the shooting except that he was shot five times not three. He is in stable condition.”
Then about 2:30 p.m. he posted a third statement. “Last time I checked guns weren’t sentient.”
About 5:45 p.m. Ravin posted a fourth statement. “We know who the shooter is. So does the LAPD. Justice is on the way!”
Ravin’s mother, Lana Ravin of Woodland Hills, told the Los Angeles Daily News that Joel Ravin was shot five times and had a bullet lodged in his kidney and one in his neck. One of the bullets nicked his spinal cord and her son Joel had surgery on his arm this morning, but there are more surgeries to come, she said.
Lana Ravin also told the newspaper her son knew his assailant for years and was shot while exiting his car in the complex where he lived. His mother said her son was found by his girlfriend and he told her the gunman’s name.
“(She) tried to put pressure on something but there was just too much blood, she couldn’t tell where the wound was,” Lana Ravin said in a broadcast report.
Her wounded son is “basically sedated. He can’t eat anything, move talk or anything like that. I’m just so sad about the whole thing,” Lana Ravin said.
A sergeant at the LAPD’s Topanga Station said police had yet to confirm the family’s claim that Ravin knew his attacker. There is no suspect identified or in custody, Sgt. Greg Houser said.
Ashish Madan, who lives near the scene, told ABC7 he heard two shots and saw a wounded man lying on the ground.
