At least four murders break moratorium in L.A. County
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Watts: Christopher Tobias, a 38-year-old black man, was shot and killed in the 2000 block of 105th St. in Watts at about noon Saturday, April 5. Police said Tobias was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:48 p.m.
South-Central: Shortly after, Gary Walker, a 31-year-old black man, was shot multiple times as he stood in an alley near a parking lot of an apartment building at 1420 W. 38th St. in South-Central L.A. He was also taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:26 p.m.
Monterey Park: At about 1:19 p.m. Sunday, April 6, two Latino men were shot in Monterey Park. Paramedics pronounced Alfred Chavez, a 23-year-old Latino man, dead at the scene at 2:08 a.m. According to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, the second man was hospitalized and is recovering.
North Hollywood: Hours after Chavez’s death, Dennis Runner, 23, a white man, was shot multiple times in the head at about 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Sherman Way in North Hollywood. According to police spokesperson Ana Aguirre, the suspect, described as a Latino man, fled in a burgundy four-door Scion. Police said Dennis was sitting inside a vehicle parked in front of a liquor store when he was shot. He was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, said Aguirre. Runner was pronounced dead at 10:05 p.m.
The coroner also reported the death of Rodney Curry, a 38-year-old black man mortally wounded in a shooting, at 3:01 p.m. Saturday, April 5. But investigators had no information about the date and time of the shooting.
The shootings occurred during a 40-hour symbolic ‘murder moratorium’ called for by civil rights activists to mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The moratorium to promote peace, justice and nonviolence had started at 6:01 p.m. Friday, 40 years to the minute after King was assassinated in Memphis. The moratorium ended at 10:01 a.m. Sunday.
On Monday, Eddie Jones, president of the Los Angeles Civil Rights Association, said the moratorium was a success despite the multiple murders. ‘There wasn’t a great loss of life,’ said Jones. He said in the past there had been greater number of lives lost to gun and gang violence. ‘We sent out a beautiful message: stop the killings. Save a human life. Respect one another. Have some dignity in yourselves. Stop hurting one another and save our children,’ said Jones. As for those responsible for the homicides , Jones said, ‘Only God knows everything.’
Update: There were a total of three murders during the ‘murder moratorium.’ Runner’s death on Sunday, April 6, was not considered one of the four homicides. The L.A. County Coroner said Tuesday, April 8, that Rodney Curry, 38, a black man, may have died from an old gunshot wound he received several years ago and therefore would not be considered among any of the homicides that actually occurred during the moratorium.