Baby in Mother’s Arms Hit in Head by Bullet in Gang Battle

A 9-month-old baby girl nestled in her mother’s arms was shot and gravely wounded Friday afternoon when members of a street gang opened fire on rival gang members in South-Central Los Angeles.

The mother and child, who were not immediately identified, apparently were caught in the middle of the dispute between members of the Crips and Bloods street gangs as they waited at a bus stop on Crenshaw Boulevard near 50th Street, police said.

Two suspects in the shooting jumped onto an RTD bus moments later, but were captured by two citizens who heard the mother’s screams and pursued the bus in their car, investigators said. The motorists forced the bus to a halt and held the pair until officers arrived.

Detectives were questioning the two suspects arrested on the bus. Several other suspects also were being questioned.

The baby, rushed to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood, was reported “in very critical condition” with a single bullet wound in the head. The child was transferred later to UCLA Medical Center.

Police Sgt. Al Ruvalcaba, watch commander at the 77th Street Station, said the mother was waiting with the baby at the bus stop at about 3:30 p.m.

Detective Lt. Otis Dobrine said the woman was waiting for her high school-age son, who joined her at the bus stop with another teen-age boy.

The sergeant said both of the teen-agers were believed to be members of the Crips gang.

A car filled with members of the Bloods gang approached and words were exchanged between the rivals, according to Ruvalcaba.

At that point, the sergeant said, one of the two Crips members at the bus stop opened fire, apparently aiming at the oncoming car, but one shot hit the baby.

Ruvalcaba said the car roared off.

It was not known whether any of the youths in the car were wounded.

Ruvalcaba said the two Crips gang members then jumped aboard an RTD bus as it was pulling out.

Two unidentified citizens driving by heard the mother screaming, stopped and apparently learned from her what had happened. They sped off in pursuit, heading off the bus a few blocks from the shooting scene.

There, Ruvalcaba said, they held the two suspects until police arrived a short time later.

Another police source said that seven suspects were in custody, but there were few other details. He also said that at least one handgun was seized as evidence.