‘It’s a War’: Revenge Talk Echoes Fatal Shot in Night

Stone-faced, Manuel (Primo) Castillo on Saturday rocked his bike on Alhambra’s Main Street, a few feet from the blood-stained pavement where his friend had been gunned down by someone in a passing car the night before.

“There’s gonna be a lot revenge,” the 16-year-old said matter-of-factly. “They messed up killing Anthony. He has a lot of friends.”

It was the day after another night of drive-by shootings in Los Angeles County. Two people were dead. One was wounded. Police were investigating the now-routine wave of weekend violence and some, like Castillo, were already predicting the next round.

At the scene of the Alhambra shooting, outside a hamburger stand popular with teen-agers, an 18-year-old who asked only to be identified as “Moses” said, “There’s gonna be some trouble.”

“It’s just like a war,” Castillo said, explaining there was talk in the neighborhood of getting even with a rival gang suspected of being involved in the shooting. “It’ll just keep on happening until one (gang) dies out.”

It didn’t seem to matter that police were saying the shooting Friday night of Anthony Cataldo, 16, did not appear to be gang-related. “It appears this altercation was traffic related,” said Sgt. Andrew Harvey of the Alhambra police department.

Cataldo was apparently riding a bike outside of Rick’s Burgers when he was cut off by someone in a pickup truck. Angry words were exchanged and a car passed by later and there was a shooting, Harvey said.

Police released only sketchy information about the incident. They acknowledged Saturday afternoon that arrests had been made, but declined to give details. Harvey declined to comment on whether Cataldo was believed to be a gang member, but Castillo said he did associate with gang members.

Cataldo’s older brother, Ralph, said Anthony was the youngest of six children, a “tough kid” who had been arrested before for assault. “He never took (guff) from any people,” he said.

The killing in Alhambra’s quiet downtown was unusual. David Reynoso, a barber for 18 years on the palm tree-lined row of older shops, said nothing like that has happened before.

But he added with resignation, “They’re shooting all over L.A. Why should it be a surprise?”

In other street shootings, a 19-year-old Los Angeles man, Juan Jose Buenrostro, was killed early Saturday in a drive-by attack near Venice Boulevard and Meadow Brook Avenue. Police said Buenrostro and a friend, who was not injured, were walking along the street when an automatic weapon was fired from a passing car. Buenrostro died at the scene and police said the shooting appeared to be gang-related.

Los Angeles police also were investigating the slayings of two unidentified middle-aged men who were shot as they waited for a traffic light at Olympic Boulevard and Mateo Street in Los Angeles. Police said the incident did not appear to be gang-related.

Baldwin Park police and sheriff’s deputies were investigating the shooting death of a man whose body was found early Saturday morning at Leorita and Dalewood streets in Baldwin Park.