Police: 8-year-old girl gunned down by LA gang members in apartment courtyard
Associated Press

Article Launched: 07/24/2008 07:16:10 PM PDT


LOS ANGELES — Police searching for two suspected gang members who gunned down an 8-year-old girl were questioning possible witnesses and fielding calls from tipsters Thursday, police said.

The girl was fatally shot in the courtyard of a South Los Angeles apartment building Wednesday night. Police withheld her name.

There were no suspects in custody, Officer Marjan Mobasser said.

"We are getting a lot of tips from the public so hopefully that will help investigators find who the suspects are," she said.

Children were playing in the courtyard of their apartment building when two males in their late teens approached and opened fire at a nearby group of people, Mobasser said.

The girl was hit in the chest and pronounced dead at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, she said.

Capt. Dennis Kato told KTTV-TV the girl was an unintended target of the shooting, which was believed to be gang-related.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa promised a swift reaction by police.

"We are going to do everything possible to investigate this matter, to bring these individuals to justice," he said.


http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/nation ... ci_9988855