3 Teen-Agers Killed, 6 Wounded in Shootings Involving Latino Gangs

A rash of shootings involving Latino street gangs has left three teen-agers dead and at least six others wounded this weekend throughout Los Angeles County, law enforcement officials said.

The deadly weekend shootings, authorities said, took place in Bell, West Los Angeles and the Atwater area of Los Angeles.

In Bell, Maywood resident Luis Canales, 18, was fatally shot with a .357 Magnum late Friday during an argument between gangs at the intersection of Wilcox and Florence avenues, sheriff’s deputies said.

Single Shot Fired

The two groups were in parking lots across the street from each other when they apparently began exchanging words and gestures concerning a previous gang-related shooting. When Canales and his friends boarded a pickup truck to leave, a single shot was fired. Canales, struck in the upper torso, died at a nearby hospital.

A 15-year-old Cudahy youth, whose name was not released because of his juvenile status, was being held without bail Saturday on suspicion of murder. The alleged murder weapon was also recovered, authorities said.

The West Los Angeles shooting, which took the life of Palmdale resident Larry Marcus, 18, occurred at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven convenience store in the 1600 block of Bundy Drive.

Police said Marcus and a second victim, Robert Mora, 18, of Los Angeles, were shot by unknown gunmen after a verbal altercation involving a Latino street gang in the parking lot. The attackers, who fired from a car, reportedly shouted gang slogans before driving off.

Dead at Scene

Marcus, who police said was apparently not a gang member, was pronounced dead at the scene. Mora was treated at UCLA Medical Center for a bullet wound to the hand.

Benjamin Rivas, 17, was fatally wounded by drive-by shotgun fire late Friday while walking in the 3300 block of Glendale Avenue in the Atwater District. Los Angeles police said the assailants yelled out the name of a Latino street gang before firing.

Five members of yet another Latino street gang were shot by rival gang members at Cadillac Avenue and Venice Boulevard early Saturday, police said.

The youths, all 17, were among eight people in a car that was approached by a second vehicle, whose passengers shouted out slogans of the Drifters gang, police said.

First, the assailants shot out two tires of the victims’ car. Then, when the victims, members of the Carnitas gang, got out of the car, the assailants circled back and opened fire with a shotgun and a .38-caliber handgun. The five victims, whose names were not released, were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

‘Truce Summit’

The incidents occurred in the wake of an announcement Friday of plans by Los Angeles church leaders to hold a “truce summit” next week between members of several of the city’s major black street gang factions.

The various factions, or sets, of black street gangs have been responsible for a majority of the recent gang drive-by shootings in Los Angeles, according to police.

Meanwhile, at the Imperial Courts housing project in Watts on Saturday, a handful of black street gang members and ex-members joined with a black minister in a call for government-sponsored job programs as a means of curbing gang violence.

Steve Newman, 24, who said he has been involved with gangs for nine years, told a news conference that underprivileged youngsters need alternatives to hanging out on the streets. In his case, he said, he would take a low-paying job, if necessary, because “I have three kids and I’m looking ahead for them to be something better than what I was.”