Son of California councilwoman killed near USC campus
A student who is the son of an Oakland, California, city councilwoman was shot and killed in what might have been a robbery attempt near the University of Southern California campus, officials said.
Victor McElhaney, who was studying at USC’s Thornton School of Music, was killed shortly after midnight Sunday about a mile from the campus, USC Annenberg Media reported.
McElhaney is the son of Oakland Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Zachary Wald, the councilwoman’s chief of staff, told the Los Angeles Times.
“In light of the news of the tragic loss to Council Member McElhaney and her family, the City of Oakland extends its deepest condolences and prayers during this very difficult time,” City Clerk LaTonda Simmons wrote in an emailed statement to the East Bay Times.
Three or four men approached the victim at the corner of Maple Avenue and Adams Boulevard in what might have been a robbery attempt and one shot him, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez told Annenberg Media. The men fled in a vehicle, police said.
McElhaney was in critical condition when he was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said. He was pronounced dead at 11 a.m. Sunday, Annenberg Media said.
No arrests had been made in connection with the shooting as of Sunday afternoon.
USC Interim President Wanda Austin sent a letter to students and faculty in which she praised the police investigation. “We appreciate the ongoing and diligent efforts of the Los Angeles Police Department to quickly identify and arrest those responsible for this senseless crime,” Austin said.
The school, which is on spring break, has been in touch with McElhaney’s family, she said.
McElhaney is from Oakland, where he was an instructor at Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, the university said. In the fall of 2017, he transferred from California State University East Bay to USC to pursue Jazz Studies. He was an active member of USC’s Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs.
“He believed in the power of music to touch lives, to heal, and to bring hope,” Austin said in her statement. “Victor’s loss will affect all of the faculty and students who knew him.”
The USC community has previously been hit by violent crime. On July 24, 2014, 24-year-old University of Southern California student Xinran Ji was killed after he was attacked by a group of four people as he walked home from a study group near the USC campus. He made it back to his apartment and died before he was found by a roommate.
The attackers were convicted of the killing and sent to prison.
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3/10/2019 8:15:51 PM (GMT -6:00)
