Weekend Burst of Gang Fights Fatal to Four

Four people died and at least 10 were wounded this weekend in gang violence that stretched from Westwood to Pomona, authorities said Sunday.

The bloodshed brought to 10 the number of people killed in gang violence in Los Angeles County in the last week, a total of 123 deaths since January.

Authorities were at a loss to explain the deadly weekend outburst.

“I don’t know why there are so many,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Detta Roberts. “Some weeks, unfortunately, there just seems to be a lot.”

Stab Victim Dies

The victim of what sheriff’s deputies believe was a gang-related stabbing died Sunday morning of his wounds. Anthony Jerome Ingram, 20, of West Covina, had been stabbed late Friday night at a carnival on the campus of Bassett High School in Valinda. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Roberts said three black men were being sought in connection with the crime, but would not elaborate on how gang activities were related.

Los Angeles police detectives were looking for five suspected gang members in the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man early Sunday in Sylmar.

John Shaw of Sylmar was shot outside of a party he attended in the 14900 block of Aztec Street, Detective Richard Knapp said. Investigators did not know if Shaw was a gang member, Knapp said.

Shaw left the party with two friends about 12:30 a.m., Knapp said. The group was returning to the party when confronted by the assailants, who said they were gang members, the detective said. Shaw fled but was shot once in the upper torso and died at the scene.

Early Saturday morning, a 28-year-old East Los Angeles man was shot as he fled from pursuing gang members at a gas station, Roberts said.

Mario Arellanes of East Los Angeles was pursued and gunned down after he emerged from the restroom of the gas station in the 3800 block of 3rd Street, Roberts said. No arrests had been made.

Death in Compton

In Compton, a 25-year-old gang leader was killed Friday after arguing with three men also believed to be gang members, Compton police said. Kalon Lewis, identified by police as a well-known gang member, died about two hours after the 8 p.m. shooting. No suspects were apprehended.

Another man was killed early Sunday outside of a South-Central Los Angeles liquor store, but the murder was thought to be unrelated to gang activity, police said. Police suspect that the man, who was not identified pending notification of family, may have been involved in a drug deal gone awry.

A dozen other gang-related shootings took place over the weekend, some amid heavy police presence in the South-Central and San Pedro areas. During the crackdown, 200 officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s anti-gang task force arrested 196 people, 125 of whom were believed to be gang members.