(Updated throughout at 12:20 p.m.): A pregnant woman and her fetus died in a shooting in the Westside community of La Cienega Heights Wednesday morning, police said. The attack appeared by be a gang-related, drive-by shooting near the Ward Plaza Shopping Center, which contains a Ross, a Toys R Us and a well-attended weekly farmer's market on Thursdays.

The violence was reported about 9:15 a.m. in the 1900 block of Corning Street, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Bruce Borihanh. The victim, described as being in her mid-20s, died at a hospital. Although doctors tried to save the fetus, it was declared dead later in the morning.

LAPD Capt. Ruben De La Torre told CBS2 that someone drove the woman to a hospital. The attack was quite close to Kaiser Permanente's large, West Los Angeles facility.

“The vehicle drove up. Our victim was seated in a vehicle. Shots rang out,'' LAPD Capt. Evangelyn Nathan told ABC7. “We're reaching out to the public for information. … We're looking for individuals who have information concerning the shooting, the suspects, vehicles; anything that you can tell us at all.''

The station reported that the shooter approached the woman, opened fire, dropped something, picked it up, got in a car and fled.

The area is claimed by a gang called the Playboy Gangster Crips, and several shootings have been reported there over the years, including a few outside nearby Hamilton High School in the South Robertson neighborhood.

-With reporting from Weekly wire services. Got news? Email us.

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