Boy, 12, Killed in Dispute Over a Baseball : 18 Bullet Wounds in Victim’s Body, Family Says; Playmate Held

A 12-year-old boy was shot to death by a playmate, also 12, in a dispute over a baseball, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said Friday.

At least 18 bullet wounds were discovered in the victim’s body, his family said.

The incident occurred Thursday afternoon in the home of the assailant. The boys lived a block from one another in an attractive neighborhood of Quartz Hill, a desert community outside Lancaster.

The dead boy was Christopher Perea. The alleged assailant’s identity was not disclosed because of his age. He was detained in Sylmar Juvenile Hall for investigation of murder.

“My boy was very talented,” Salomon Perea, the victim’s father, said Friday. “He was a very good athlete and also a very smart boy. From what I can determine, even though it is early, there might have been a little bit of jealousy involved. The boy shot him several times. . . .

“We don’t understand why this happened.”

Christopher and the other youth had been close friends, the father said, but recently they drifted apart and did not “hang around as much anymore.”

Nonetheless, Christopher and a third boy, whose name was not disclosed, gathered in the suspect’s bedroom on Thursday to lift weights. They were preparing to leave for a video arcade when the fatal argument began.

“Christopher picked up a baseball and the suspect told him to put it down,” sheriff’s Sgt. Leroy Chastain said. “The victim then walked out of the room and downstairs with the ball.

“The suspect appeared on the balcony at the top of the stairs with a .22 rifle and again told Christopher to put the ball down, and Christopher continued walking. The suspect opened fire.”

Hit several times, Perea staggered into a hallway and fell. The hallway, however, was still in range and, Chastain said, “it appears the suspect continued to shoot the victim in the hallway.”

The third boy telephoned an emergency number, summoning police and paramedics.

Perea was dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. His alleged assailant was taken into custody and, according to Chastain, made no statement to arresting officers.

The suspect had no previous history of violence, investigators said.

The rifle belonged to the boy and was kept in his room, Chastain said.