16-year-old arrested in shooting that left girl brain dead

Daily News Wire
Article Last Updated: 05/27/2008 06:32:44 AM PDT


LOS ANGELES - A 16-year-old boy was arrested in connection with a gang-related shooting in Highland Park that left a 14-year-old girl brain dead, police said today.

"She is probably not going to make it," said Karen Smith of the LAPD's Media Relations Section. "She's brain dead."

The shooting occurred at York Boulevard and North Avenue 64 about 3:15 p.m. Monday, said Detective P.J. Morris of the Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast Station.

The intended victim, Fabian Aguirre, 33, of Highland Park pulled up to a red light in his vehicle next to the sport-utility vehicle the girl was riding in, Morris said.

Aguirre became involved in a verbal dispute with a boy standing on a street corner, he said, adding that the boy pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots, striking Aguirre in the upper body.

Aguirre drove several blocks to a nearby hospital, where he was treated, Morris said, adding that he was expected to make a full recovery.

A 14-year-old girl in the nearby SUV was struck by stray gunfire, he said. She suffered a gunshot wound to the head as she sat in the left rear passenger's seat of the vehicle, he said.

She was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where she received extensive medical treatment before being diagnosed as brain dead, Morris said.

Her 7-year-old brother sustained superficial facial injuries from shattered glass. He was transported to a hospital in stable condition, Smith said.

The 16-year-old boy was being held at East Lake Juvenile Hall, said Morris, who described the shooting as gang-related.

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