This week's “shooting rampage” in the gUn-happy States of America

From the Los Angeles Times

3 killed, 3 wounded in shootings in an 8-hour span

California — Local

By JOEL RUBIN | 1:52 PM - Sunday, March 29, 2009

A spasm of gun violence over an eight-hour period in Los Angeles County left at least three men dead and three others injured, police said today.

The first shooting occurred in South Los Angeles around 8:20 p.m. Saturday, when an unidentified person approached an 18-year-old man in the 2700 block of Naomi Avenue and shot him several times, said Sgt. Rick Arteaga of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Newton station. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he died. Arteaga said the shooting was gang-related; he declined to provide further details.

Violence then erupted just off of the Santa Monica Freeway around 12:30 a.m. today. Several men, described by witnesses as Latinos in their late teens or early 20s, were cruising the 2600 block of Garth Avenue in a silver Honda Civic when one of them fired a gun at people attending a party on the block, said Officer Rosario Herrera. A 19-year-old man was hit. The name of the victim, who was transported to a hospital in stable condition, was unknown, Herrera said.

At 1:20 a.m., back in South Los Angeles, a 21-year-old man was wounded by gunfire. The incident occurred in the 1400 block of 43rd Street. The victim, whose name was withheld, was taken to a hospital in stable condition, Herrera said. No other information was available.

The violence in Los Angeles ended shortly before 4 a.m., when a verbal dispute between two men in a bar in the 2000 block of West Manchester Boulevard turned deadly. One of the men shot the other, killing him, Herrera said. Police did not release the name of the victim, pending notification of his family. The shooter fled the scene, according to police.

The violence extended beyond the city limits.

In Santa Fe Springs, a 19-year-old man was approaching the door of a house on Jersey Avenue to attend a birthday party around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when an attacker approached him from behind. The victim was shot five times in the back at close range in what is suspected to be a gang-related attack, said Lt. Carlos Solorza of the Whittier Police Department.

The victim, whose name was withheld, underwent surgery. It was unknown whether he survived his wounds, Solorza said. Police described the shooter as a Latino, about 18 years old, around 5 feet, 10 inches tall and wearing a black sweat shirt and jeans.

And in the Florence area, an unincorporated community bordering South Los Angeles, a man was shot to death around 1:15 a.m. today as he and a friend walked along the 1100 block of 59th Street.

Police said that two Latino men driving a white compact pickup truck pulled up alongside the pair. One of the men in the truck asked, "Where are you from?" and opened fired, according to Sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Butao. The victim, whose name was withheld, was struck several times in the upper body and died at a hospital, Butao said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/03/three-killed-th.html