Gang Warfare Leaves 4 Dead From Shootings Over Weekend

Armed gang members struck in a park and on the streets of Los Angeles this weekend, killing four people and wounding at least five others.

In the first incident, Reginald Cash, 18, was killed Saturday in a shoot-out, apparently between members of rival gangs, in South-Central Los Angeles, police said. Cash was shot in the head in an exchange of gunfire at 5:15 p.m. on Naomi Avenue between 34th and 35th streets.

Later that evening, Frank William Adams, 14, was killed in a drive-by shooting at the Jim Gilliam Recreation Center, police said. Shots were fired into a crowd at the park off La Brea Avenue about 7:35 p.m. Frank, who was wounded in the chest, was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died, police said.

Later Saturday night, a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot and his adult companion was wounded in an apparent gang-related incident near Lynwood Park. The victims were standing together in the 11000 block of Benwell Drive when they were approached by two other men, said Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Bryan Williams.

One of the other men produced a gun after words were exchanged, Williams said. The boy was shot the stomach and his companion, Kenneth Shaw, 26, of Lynwood, was shot in the leg. The younger victim, whose name was not released pending notification of relatives, died 12 hours later at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. Shaw was admitted to the hospital.

A 23-year old Maywood man was shot to death Sunday night by three teen-agers on bicycles in the Florence area in what sheriff’s deputies said was another gang-related shooting.

Jose Barrios died in the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center less than an hour later. None of the suspects was captured after the incident at 76th Place and Walnut Drive.

In an incident at 1:35 a.m. Sunday, four men in a light-colored Volkswagen Beetle shouted gang slogans and opened fire on about 50 people gathered in front of a Taco Bell restaurant on Beverly and Rampart boulevards, police said. As many as 10 .22-caliber bullets were fired in the drive-by shooting, police said. Four Los Angeles residents were wounded--three teen-agers and an adult--and police said one of the victims may be paralyzed as a result of the shooting.

Attack on the Streets

Meanwhile, police in South Los Angeles, where gang violence has resulted in more deaths than other areas of the city, fought back this weekend. A 60-officer task force staged a special 16-hour campaign against gang members and drug dealers, Lt. Mark Leap said. Although Leap could not provide statistics, he estimated that more than 50 people were arrested between 9 a.m. Saturday and 2 a.m. Sunday.

Leap, who commanded the task force, said it was the second time this year that officers of the 77th Street Division have waged a concentrated effort to rid the streets of gang members and drugs. In January, a weekend-long operation netted 150 arrests.

Leap also stressed that the stepped-up police activity had nothing to do with a gang shooting in Westwood last month. The strong police response to that shooting--in which a 27-year-old Long Beach woman was killed--sparked an outcry in less-affluent communities such as South-Central Los Angeles, where 114 people were killed in gang violence last year.

In the shooting at the Taco Bell early Sunday, police said the victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wounded were Juan Carlos Peach, 15, who was shot twice in the chest; Walter Solis, 14, who was shot in the left jaw; Alfredo Avila, 17, who was shot in the left leg; and Pedro Carrillo, 21, whose head was grazed by a bullet.