15-year-old killed amid spate of violent street takeovers in Los Angeles
Police are seeking the gunmen who killed one 15-year-old boy and injured another on Saturday during one of several street takeovers across Los Angeles over the weekend.
The shooting happened around 12:40 a.m. Saturday near 54th Street and Western Avenue, where a crowd had gathered to watch cars careen around the intersection.
The two teenagers, who were among spectators, witnessed an apparent robbery taking place in the area, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. The suspects then shot at the boys before fleeing to a nearby vehicle and taking off in an unknown direction. Police did not say how many shooters were involved.
The two boys were taken to a nearby hospital. One was in stable condition on Monday. The other was listed in critical condition and was transferred to a different hospital, where he died of his injuries.
In street takeovers, also known as sideshows, drivers commandeer intersections to engage in illegal and often dangerous stunts. The events attract hundreds of spectators at a time, and have frequently led to shootings, violence and deadly accidents.
There is a growing backlash in some neighborhoods, with residents demanding authorities do more to crack down on the illegal gatherings that can turn deadly in a flash.
At least five more events took place at intersections around Los Angeles late Sunday night into early Monday morning, according to local media reports.
Around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, shots were fired at a street takeover near Greenleaf Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue in Compton. Two men struck by bullets were taken to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to ABC7.
In the early morning hours Monday, spectators at an event at the intersection of Manchester Avenue and Avalon Boulevard broke into a Wing Stop restaurant, where they stole cash and food, authorities say.
Two miles away, police officers responding to a gathering of roughly 300 people at the intersection of Manchester and Normandie avenues found a car in flames.
A separate incident led to a broken fire hydrant, sending a geyser of water into the air near Century Boulevard and Western Avenue, NBC4 reported, while another street takeover was reported at Rosecrans Avenue and Central Avenue in Compton. The news outlet also reported that police broke up another gathering of more than 100 cars near Century Boulevard and Hoover Street that damaged a taco cart.
LAPD South Bureau Homicide detectives are still looking for the gunmen in Saturday’s shooting, police said in a statement, and are asking for the public’s help. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
Street racing and takeovers peaked in Los Angeles in 2020, with 912 incidents. In 2019, there were 319 incidents, and in 2023, 482, according to data LAPD presented in February.
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles City Council voted 12 to 1 to authorize an $80,000 pilot program to install hardened, raised center lines at 20 hot-spot intersections across the city in an effort to deter such events. None of the weekend events took place at the targeted intersections.
The county Board of Supervisors has also requested a verbal report at the end of this month from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on the issue, local media reported.
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