17 killed in weekend violence

Violence across Los Angeles County over the weekend claimed at least 17 lives, a deadly tally that included five people found shot to death in Long Beach, authorities said.

The deaths in Los Angeles were concentrated in the southern part of the city. Cases handled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were spread across its patrol areas, investigators said.

The incidents come as homicides are slightly down so far this year compared with the same period in 2007 in L.A. But LAPD Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner said the LAPD was “pulling out all the stops” to address the violence.

He said the LAPD was working with the community to organize a gang summit by Wednesday. In addition, he said the department was deploying “many more officers on the street.”

The weekend violence began with a shooting involving a 20-year-old man who was shot and killed Friday at 9 p.m. while walking with a female companion in the 43800 block of Fallon Drive in Lancaster.

A gunman emerged from a dark-colored compact car and shot the man in the upper torso with a shotgun, said Deputy Derrick A. Thompson of the Sheriff’s Department.

The man died at the scene. The woman was uninjured, Thompson said. Detectives believe the shooting may have been gang-related.

About two hours later, Damion Cook, 39, was shot and killed in the 1100 block of West 90th Street in the Vermont Knolls area.

Authorities believe the shooting may have been connected to an attempted robbery and are looking for two men last seen running from the scene.

At 11:45 p.m., officers with the LAPD’s Southwest Division responded to a shooting in the 2000 block of West 48th Street near Arlington Street. Investigators said Carrington Henderson, 25, of Los Angeles was standing in the street when he was hit several times by shots fired from a mid-sized car or sport utility vehicle. Henderson was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The killing is believed to be gang-related, police said.

Shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday in East Los Angeles, a 27-year-old man was fatally shot and two others were injured at a party in the 4200 block of Michigan Avenue, said Deputy Rick Pedroza.

The unidentified man was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives believe the attack may have been gang-related.

At 1:05 a.m., LAPD officers responded to a shooting near Century Boulevard and Central Avenue.

When they arrived, they found Dennis Brown, 21, with several gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. The motive remains under investigation.

Less than half an hour later, in the Harbor Division, police responded to a double shooting in the 1000 block of Lagoon Avenue, where they found two male victims bleeding from gunshot wounds.

Witnesses told police that two men driving a Honda sedan pulled up. One man got out and fired several shots, they said.

Both victims were taken to a hospital, where Eric Perez, 26, died at 6:15 a.m. from a wound to his upper torso.

The second victim, whose name was not released, was treated for a non-life-threatening injury. The shooting was believed to be gang-related.

About 1:30 a.m. Jonathan Estrada, 27, of Pomona, was shot in the 4000 block of Lucera Court after an argument outside the residence over a possible carjacking, said Ed Winter, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Estrada later died at a hospital.

At 2:33 a.m. Saturday, officers from the LAPD’s Southwest Division were called to the 4500 block of Rodeo Lane, where an unidentified man had been shot multiple times in the upper torso.

He died at a hospital.

Two hours later, a man between 18 and 20 years old was shot and killed in Baldwin Park.

The man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was shot at 4:30 a.m. in the 12800 block of Dalewood Street. The shooting is under investigation.

In Long Beach, five people were killed in an area of West Wardlow Road near the junction of the 710 and 405 freeways. Their bodies were found early Sunday morning. Homicide investigators continued Monday to search for possible witnesses, including a man who called 911 to report the shooting.

Also on Sunday morning, Britney Williams, 21, was shot by her boyfriend at 1 a.m. in the 2400 block of East El Segundo Boulevard in the Willowbrook area, said Deputy Ed Hernandez. She later died of gunshot wounds at a local hospital.

At 9:15 p.m., two men were shot at a home in the 4000 block of South Muirfield Road. The men were standing outside when two people opened fire on them with assault rifles. John Donnell, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene, and police said they did not know the condition of the second victim, Timothy Jones, 18.

At 5 a.m. Monday, a person wearing a Halloween mask knocked on the door of a residence in the 10000 block of Southwestern Avenue in South L.A. and shot a man who answered.

The man died at a hospital.

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andrew.blankstein @latimes.com

james.wagner@latimes.com