Pepperdine’s Anderson Wounded in Early Morning Drive-By Shooting

Pepperdine guard Derrick Anderson is in stable condition after being wounded in a drive-by shooting early Saturday morning, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Anderson was sitting in his Jeep Grand Cherokee at 12:20 a.m. near the corner of West 99th Street and South Gramercy Place in Los Angeles when he was shot in the left shoulder. The bullet went through his shoulder and remains lodged in his chest.

The suspect, described by police as an African-American male 18-25 years old, fled in a gray Camaro and remains at large.

“He’s fine, a little bit shaken up, but fine,” said Gib Arnold, a Pepperdine assistant coach who visited Anderson at the hospital. “Derrick said doctors aren’t sure if they are going to remove the bullet or just leave it there. They said that if the bullet hadn’t hit his arm first, he’d be dead.”

Anderson told Arnold he was dropping off a friend and was about to return to Pepperdine when the Camaro drove past and one of its occupants fired three shots.

Anderson, who will be a senior in the fall, sat out last season under NCAA transfer rules. He averaged 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists at Nevada in 1998-99. Anderson helped Crenshaw High to the state championship in 1996 and averaged 16.9 points and 7.1 assists at L.A. City College in 1997-98.

Pepperdine Coach Jan van Breda Kolff is visiting relatives in New Jersey and was unavailable for comment.