Brandon Markee Grayson, 24

Brandon Grayson, a 24-year-old black man, was shot to death Wednesday, March 9, in the 14100 block of Prairie Avenue in Hawthorne, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Grayson was walking on the sidewalk with a female and male companion about 8 p.m. "when a man emerged from the shadows armed with a handgun," according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which assisted Hawthorne police in the investigations.

The man fired several times, striking all three people, authorities said. Grayson was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was hospitalized with critical injuries, sheriff's officials say. The male was in stable condition.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.

-- Megan Garvey