Gang Shots Kill Two Men, Wound Youth

Two separate outbreaks of gang gunfire early Saturday in Los Angeles killed two men and critically wounded a teen-ager, police said.

In the first incident, a 21-year-old gang member was gunned down and killed in a drive-by shooting shortly after midnight in South-Central Los Angeles, Sgt. Glenn Thrall said.

Four hours later, a possible drive-by shooting in the El Sereno area left one 24-year-old gang member dead and a fellow 16-year-old gang member critically wounded, said Detective Sergio Robleto.

The victim in the first shooting, David Rivas, 21, was standing in a parking lot in the 600 block of East 23rd Street when four or five shots were fired from a car containing several men, Thrall said.

Rivas, a known gang member, was hit and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. No suspects were in custody.

The second shooting occurred about 4 a.m. in the 4500 block of Cassatt Street in El Sereno, where gang members became involved in an argument that escalated into shooting, Robleto said.

Details were sketchy, but at one point two suspected gang members drove by the victims and opened fire.

The youth was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he was in “very, very critical condition” with multiple gunshot wounds in the upper torso, Robleto said.

Neither the youth nor the man who died in the shooting, both gang members, were immediately identified.

The shootings “surprised” police, Robleto said, adding that Hollenbeck Division in East Los Angeles has had a decrease in gang activity so far this year.