Boy, 6, shot in head in Harbor Gateway area

A 6-year-old black boy was critically wounded after being shot in the head by suspected Latino gang members today as the victim’s family drove through the Harbor Gateway neighborhood, Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton said.

Two Latino males flashed gang signs before opening fire on the red Chevy Blazer with six people inside, including the victim’s mother, who is eight months pregnant, Bratton said. The rear window of the vehicle was shattered by the gunfire, and one of the rounds hit the boy in the head, he said.

The victim was rushed to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center by paramedics after the shooting, which occurred about 12:40 p.m. on 227th Street between Halldale and Denker avenues, police said. He was listed in cricital condition.

The family was not from the neighborhood, which is known for racial tensions between Latino gangs and black residents, police said. They were heading to an auto auction at the time.

There were no other reported injuries, police said. Other passengers inside the vehicle included a man and a woman and two other children, ages 3 and 1 1/2 .

Police cordoned off two blocks in the neighborhood this afternoon as they mounted a massive search for the two suspects, one described as between the ages of 28 and 30, heavyset, wearing a white T-shirt and black pants; the other, between ages 16 and 20, with a shaved head and possibly a mustache, wearing blue jeans and riding a racing bicycle.

Bratton did not say whether the suspects had ties to a specific gang, but he noted that the neighborhood is home to the East Side Torrance gang. The narrow strip of land known as Harbor Gateway connects the bulk of Los Angeles with the harbor communities.

“This is an area that is under the influence of a Latino gang,” Bratton said. “You may recall that about a year or so ago, the mayor and I were engaged in a major initiative up the street at 204th Street, where there had been the shooting death of a young black woman.”

Bratton was referring to the killing of 14-year-old Cheryl Green, who was also black, in December 2006. Two members of the 204th Street gang allegedly shot Green as she stood talking with friends in the same community.

The suspects were later caught and charged with murder, along with a special hate crime allegation.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined Bratton at an afternoon news conference to discuss the latest shooting.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the family [of the boy] at this time, with the community that has suffered a lot over the last few years – a community of good people, hard-working people, people who want safety for the children in the neighborhood,” Villaraigosa said. “All I can say is, I trust that the men and women of the LAPD are going to work as hard as they can work around the clock to bring these individuals to justice.”

The East Side Torrance and 204th Street gangs are longtime rivals. But they also are known for preying on black residents.

The shooting came a week after Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo obtained a preliminary gang injunction against 26 members of East Side Torrance and 204th Street.

The injunction bars the members from associating with one another in public within a designated Harbor Gateway “safety zone.” Violators would face up to a year in jail, said Jeff Isaacs, head of the city attorney’s criminal prosecutions.

In a declaration supporting Delgadillo’s request against East Side Torrance, LAPD Sgt. Dan Robbins said the gang frequently targeted black residents with violence, harassment and racist graffiti.

“Every black person, but in particular black males, is a potential victim of EST violence and intimidation,” wrote Robbins, the LAPD’s expert on the two gangs.

richard.winton@latimes.com

victoria.kim@latimes.com

Times staff writer Sam Quinones contributed to this report.