Two people were shot with a BB gun in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday morning, around the time of the city’s 19th annual naked bike ride.
Two adult males were shot and treated for lacerations at the scene, said Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Officer Charles Miller.
Police were dispatched at around 11 a.m. to the corner of Temple and Alameda streets. The bike ride began at 10 a.m. near that intersection, and was set to end at around noon, according to the event’s schedule.
It’s not confirmed whether the victims were participating in the naked bike ride, Miller said. The event’s starting point was at a parking lot on the corner of Temple and Alameda streets, where the incident took place, according to the event’s Instagram account.
The event’s organizers didn’t immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
The suspect, an adult male, wore all black and traveled on a scooter. He was later taken into custody and is in jail awaiting booking, Miller said.
The annual event is part of World Naked Bike Ride, an international grassroots movement created to promote positive body image and encourage safer roads for cyclists. The bike rides take place in 70 cities nationwide and each draw hundreds of nude or semi-nude cyclists each year.
This year’s event held two 7- and 9-mile bike rides through downtown Los Angeles. Nudity is not required, though cyclists were encouraged to “ride as bare as you dare,” according to the event’s rules posted on social media.
Some cyclists attend naked, while others cover their bodies in paint, and bike in unison down L.A.’s streets. The bike ride is a permitted event by the LAPD, according to the organization’s Instagram account.
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