'Flash mob' gathering ends in shooting

LOS ANGELES, April 18 (UPI) -- A "flash mob" gathering in Southern California, apparently organized on Twitter, ended with a shooting that left a man in critical condition, police said.

The Saturday evening shooting on the boardwalk at Venice Beach in Los Angeles sent hundreds of people fleeing into surrounding streets, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"It looked like a human tidal wave," witness Spencer L. Sirlin, 27, said.

A man in his mid-20s was shot in the head and side and taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles police Sgt. Felipe Vasquez said.

Alexandria Thompson, a member of a neighborhood watch, said she notified police in the morning of the online effort to bring a "flash mob" to shoreline basketball courts.

The crowd, including young men in gang attire and tattoos, swelled in the late afternoon, Vasquez said, and about 6:30 p.m. six to eight shots were heard.

The victim ran to an alley where he collapsed, Vasquez said.

Local business owners said disturbances have been escalating and they feared the trend would scare off the visitors who have made Venice one of Southern California's most popular destinations, the Times reported.

Flash mobs are initiated online. A crowd gathers quickly for a specific purpose, then breaks up a short time later. Flash mobs have gathered around the world for various reasons, including dances, protests, even pillow fights.