LOCAL : Party Crasher Sought in Slaying
A suspected gang member is being sought in a fatal shooting at a Lancaster birthday party, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said today.
Christopher Sanford, 18, died at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Antelope Valley Medical Center, about 10 hours after the Saturday night shooting at a home in the 44700 block of Benald Street, Deputy Roger Hom said. A guest at the party, Sheldon Culver, 24, was hospitalized and in stable condition with a gunshot wound.
The gunman, believed to be 16 to 18 years old, has not been identified, deputies said.
Hom said the incident began when three suspected gang members attempted to crash a birthday party at the Benald Street home. There was a dispute as the three were being ejected and one of them drew a gun and shot Culver in the neck.
The three were then chased from the house, Hom said. In front of the home, the gunman turned and fired a shot at his pursuers and instead shot Sanford, who had not been involved in the incident, Hom said.
“He just happened to be leaving the party at that time,” Hom said.
Hom said the three teen-agers who crashed the party escaped.
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