Teen Shot Dead Near Valley Campus

A 16-year-boy was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire near Birmingham High School in the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday afternoon in what Los Angeles police believe was a gang-related homicide.

The shooting took place about 3:40 p.m. -- about half an hour after classes let out -- across the street from the campus near Balboa Boulevard and Haynes Street in the Lake Balboa neighborhood.

The victim, who police said attended a nearby continuation high school, was approached by two males in their late teens who asked for his gang affiliation, said Officer Jason Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Moments later, the victim and one of the young men pulled out handguns and began firing at each other, Lee said.

The victim was shot several times in the torso and died a short time later at a hospital.

“It’s horrifying; I don’t know what else I can say,” Birmingham High Principal Marsha Coates said. “It’s a very scary world which we live in. It’s a sad day for the family and our kids, who have to live in fear.”

Coates said members of the Birmingham High School football team hit the ground when they heard the gunshots, then were hustled into a nearby field house by their coaches.

Classrooms in which after-school activities are usually held were placed on lockdown for a short time.

Los Angeles Unified Schools Supt. Roy Romer said that classes would continue as scheduled today but that extra security would be added, as well as grief counselors, to reassure students and parents.

The shooting, Romer said, was “irrational.”

“It makes you terribly, terribly sad to see a student’s life being expended so cheaply,” he said.

Police closed down three nearby streets to search for the two young men, who ran off through a nearby alley.

As of nightfall, there had been no arrests.

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com