Two injured in latest shooting on San Francisco-area freeway

Reporting from San Francisco —  A major Northern California freeway was shut down during the evening commute Thursday after two motorists were shot and wounded.

The victims were targeted, and three possible suspects have been detained, the California Highway Patrol said. Both victims were taken to hospitals, one by a helicopter that landed on the roadway.

The conditions and identities of the victims have not been released. The CHP also declined to provide further details on the suspects.

The shooting occurred around 3:40 p.m. on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 near Richmond, about 12 miles north of San Francisco. The eastbound side was shut down for more than five hours for the investigation.

It’s the fourth shooting on an area freeway in the last two weeks.

Authorities arrested three suspects last week and charged them with shooting at an off-duty Oakland police officer while driving on a freeway in nearby Oakland. The officer wasn’t injured and investigators are looking into whether the officer was targeted.

A motorist was shot and killed on Highway 4 on Feb. 25.

Several Northern California mayors on the east side of the San Francisco Bay last year called on state highway officials to install more surveillance cameras along the region’s freeways after more than two dozen shootings left four motorists dead and a dozen injured.

Investigators at the time said they believed many of those shootings were gang-related, with gunmen following their targets onto freeways where surveillance is lacking and a getaway is easy.

Investigators said Thursday that they were still trying to determine a motive for the latest shootings.

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