Teen dies in ‘heinous’ killing amid series of Los Angeles street takeovers, LAPD chief says

By Marissa Wenzke

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL/KCBS) — A 15-year-old boy died after being robbed and shot during an illegal street takeover, one of multiple in Los Angeles over the weekend that drew police responses, authorities said.

Officers found the victim and another 15-year-old boy shot near the area of West 54th Street and Western Avenue in South Los Angeles late Friday night, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Dominic Choi said during an LA Police Commission Meeting Tuesday. He said the teenagers were watching a street takeover there when two people robbed them.

“After being robbed of their belongings, one of the juveniles threw a brick at the suspects’ vehicle,” Choi said.

The robbery suspects then opened fire on the boys, shooting both of them. The victims then went to a hospital, on their own and not by ambulance, Choi said. The following day, one of them died from his injuries.

LAPD is now asking for the public’s help solving the crime as no suspects have been identified by police or arrests made. The boy who was killed also has not been identified.

“Both our street racing task force as well as our South Bureau homicide teams are working diligently to solve this heinous and senseless crime,” Choi said.

On Saturday, LAPD said both boys were listed in stable condition following the shooting, but the agency later said the victim who died was in critical condition and transferred to another hospital before he died from his injuries Saturday.

But the Friday night incident wasn’t the only illegal street takeover reported over the weekend.

A pair of street takeovers on Sunday night led to a shooting in Compton and a car fire in South Los Angeles. Cars spun through the intersection of Greenleaf Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue in Compton before a driver inside one of the cars opened fire after another vehicle struck his. No one was arrested or injured, police said.

Later, officers responded to another takeover just a little north, in South Los Angeles at the intersection of Manchester Avenue and Avalon Boulevard. Video shows a car engulfed in towering flames as it sits, wrecked, in the middle of an intersection.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Choi said the car was fully ablaze by the time officers arrived. He said a Wing Stop restaurant near the intersection was broken into that same night, when a group of 5 people wearing ski masks smashed the glass storefront and disabled security cameras before taking off with some chicken and other property. They left behind $8,000 in damage, he said.

Illegal street takeovers, which usually involve dangerous driving stunts like drifting and doughnuts, have drawn crowds in different parts of LA and are sometimes the site of violent crimes. In January, four people were shot during one of six street takeovers in a single night throughout Compton and South LA. Those are among more than a dozen reported by law enforcement since the start of this year.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called on local law enforcement agencies including the LA County Sheriff’s Department to present a verbal report by the end of July on what’s being done to tackle these crimes.

“In the last couple of years, the streets of the city of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles have been overwhelmed with dangerous and illegal street takeovers that cause damage to roadways, vandalism, arson, and place participants and spectators at high risk for serious injuries and even death,” reads the motion calling for the report, made by LA County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Holly Mitchell.

Anyone with information about the fatal shooting that occurred at the street takeover Friday night, July 19, near West 54th Street and Western Avenue in South LA, is urged to reach LAPD’s South Bureau Homicide Division detectives at 323-786-5100.

During non-business hours or on weekends, calls can be made to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247). Those wishing to remain anonymous can call L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

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