Officials ID woman fatally shot outside sports bar in Hawthorne; witnesses sought

HAWTHORNE — The investigation continued Saturday into the death of a 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot in her car at a sports bar in Hawthorne after a dispute with another woman.

The shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. Friday in the 11000 block of Inglewood Avenue, where officers from the Hawthorne Police Department found the victim in a strip mall’s parking lot suffering from multiple gunshots wounds, authorities said.

Amber LaFlora was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.

Homicide detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were sent to assist Hawthorne police in the investigation.

Lt. Steve Dejong from the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said surveillance video showed 40 to 50 people in the parking lot of the VIP Sports Bar at the time of the shooting.

“We know there are witnesses,” he said, adding that the suspect fled in a silver luxury car. It was not immediately known if the suspect and victim knew each other before the confrontation, police said.

The bar was hosting a weekly karaoke night Thursday, according to a broadcast report that indicated the victim — who was celebrating a birthday — got into a dispute with the suspect inside the bar.

Relatives of LaFlora told Fox11 she was the mother of six children.

Anyone with information that could help investigators was urged to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222- TIPS (8477).