Boy, 14, Is Among Fatalities in Area Warfare by Gangs

A 14-year-old Los Angeles boy, shot to death by rival gang members as he and friends drove through the streets of Westlake, was one of several people killed in a weekend of violence that stretched from Carson to Whittier, said officials.

Salvador Garibay, 14, died in his home after he was shot in the head while sitting in a car near 6th and Union streets, Los Angeles police said.

Salvador and three friends, who police said were gang members, were driving through the Westlake area when a rival gang member fired a single shot at the youths and fatally wounded the boy, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, Sgt. Sam Galluzzo said. The gunman fled.

Salvador’s companions drove him to his home, where he died, police said.

Less than an hour later, a 20-year-old man was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting south of downtown, police said.

Fabian Jimenez had been standing outside with friends in the 3400 block of South Naomi Avenue when two men and two women drove by in a gray car and fired several gunshots, Sgt. Bob Rieboldt said.

Jimenez died at California Medical Center. The shooting, Rieboldt said, appeared to be gang related.

Shooting in Carson

In another possibly gang-related incident, two men were wounded, one critically, as they and another companion walked down a Carson street late Saturday night.

Larry Sloan, 34, of Long Beach, was in critical condition Sunday and Reggie Kemp, 29, was stable at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, after two men in a passing car fired about six shots, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Srery said.

Their companion, Henry Hart III, was unhurt, Srery added.

A 19-year-old gang member was shot to death Friday as he rode his bicycle in the unincorporated area of Athens, sheriff’s investigators said.

Erwin Baldwin had stopped his bike at 104th Street and Denker Avenue when he was shot in the chest by a passenger in a passing beige car, Deputy George Ducoulombier said. He ran a short distance before he collapsed and died, the deputy said.

Fresno Man Arrested

In two other incidents, a 25-year-old Whittier woman was found dead in her apartment, and a Fresno man was arrested in the Saturday murder of a 33-year-old Santa Monica man.

Christie Fleming, 25, who was killed by a blow to the head, was found dead shortly after noon Saturday in her Mulberry Drive home, said Ducoulombier. Investigators did not have a motive for her death.

In East Los Angeles, 45-year-old Arnulfo Ramirez of Fresno was booked in the murder of a Santa Monica resident whose name was withheld pending notification of his relatives, said Ducoulombier. The victim was shot while attending a friend’s barbecue Saturday night and died at County-USC Medical Center, said deputies.

No arrests have been made in any of the other incidents, authorities said.