Shooting of Mother, 3 Children Prompts Meeting on Gangs : San Fernando: City officials are to convene in closed session today. Safety of parks is a priority, mayor says.

San Fernando city officials will meet this morning to map out a strategy for combatting gang violence after a mother and her three children were wounded when they were caught in what police said was a gang cross-fire near Las Palmas Park last week.

“We are trying to come up with an answer to handling this problem,” Mayor Doude Wysbeek said Monday. “Innocent people are getting hurt. We need to get this gang element out of this community.”

Wysbeek, the rest of the City Council, Police Chief Dominick Rivetti and City Administrator Mary Strenn are scheduled to meet in a closed executive session. The meeting was prompted by the Wednesday night shooting in which the mother and her children were struck by shotgun pellets fired by suspected gang members.

Police said Enriqueta Duran, 30, and her children, Hector, 8, Hugo, 9, and Melina, also 9, were walking at the edge of Friendship Park, which is part of Las Palmas Park, when several suspected gang members converged from different directions and began shooting at rivals playing basketball.

After being struck by pellets, the Durans were taken to area hospitals where they were treated and released.

No arrests were made. Ironically, the shooting came after a monthlong police crackdown on gangs during which there were several arrests and gang-related crimes decreased dramatically, police said.

Wysbeek said removing the threat of gang violence from the city’s parks must be a priority so that families do not fear using them. An $80,000 playground was recently constructed at Friendship Park but nearby residents expressed fears about taking their children there after Wednesday’s shooting.

The mayor said officials at today’s meeting are expected to discuss police strategies as well as non-police methods of dealing with gangs, such as summer programs that steer youths away from gang membership. Rivetti could not be reached for comment.

“The violence has to be addressed by the police,” Wysbeek said. “But then there has to be some long-range programs for dealing with these kids.”