Shooting Range Safety Issue for Forest Service

Angeles National Forest officials, concerned about safety among firearms enthusiasts, were in the process of selecting someone to supervise a shooting range this week when a double slaying was discovered there, bringing to four the number of killings at the untended range over the past two years.

“We have been concerned about safety out there,” said Christine Rose, district ranger for the forest’s Tujunga District, which includes the so-called Middle Shooting Area in Upper Big Tujunga Canyon, west of Angeles Forest Highway. “We’re looking forward to having someone there to manage the range within the next six months.”

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer who went to the shooting range for target practice Wednesday evening discovered the bodies of Clayton Blasingame, 29, of El Monte and Ernesto Banegas Jr., 30, of Arcadia, authorities said. Blasingame died of multiple gunshot wounds; Banegas was hit once in the upper torso.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deartment homicide detectives said Blasingame and Banegas probably died between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday. Two semiautomatic rifles and an antique flintlock rifle, registered to the victims, were found near the bodies, said homicide bureau chief Lt. Gil Leslie.

The two men frequently traveled to the shooting range for target practice, said Blasingame’s mother, Marjorie. Blasingame owned Clayton’s Carpet Cleaning and also ran a home maintenance business with Banegas, his mother said.

“They were two good friends,” she added. “It wasn’t between the two boys. Police have ruled that out. There was no quarrel between them.”

She said she did not know of any enemies of either man. “It had to be intentional. I don’t know if it was a drive-by,” she said. “I think they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The 10 shooting areas in the national forest have been the subject of controversy for years. Forest officials say they are caught between the demands of shooting groups and environmentalists. Marksmen want a place to shoot at targets of their own making away from restricted ranges. But critics have said the areas can pose hazards both for shooters and for other forest visitors. They also have noted that fires have been a problem in the shooting areas.

Recreational shooting has ranked with hiking and camping among the most popular forest activities.

The Middle Shooting Area is in a steep, narrow ravine strewn with bullet fragments and shell casings. Hundreds of people crowd the place on weekends. The rules are simple: No alcoholic beverages. Targets must be biodegradable. Weapons must be legal.

Rangers come through on patrol to check that regulations are being followed, but no one is on the site full time.

Two people were killed by stray bullets there in separate incidents in 1987, Rose said.

Last year, a manager was appointed to run a shooting concession in the forest’s Saugus District, said Larry Marlow, acting recreation officer.

Times staff writer Esther Schrader contributed to this report.