Boy Wounded by Gang Bullets Dies

A 6-year-old boy died early Saturday of a head wound he suffered five days earlier when alleged gang members opened fire at a rival in Pomona and hit the child instead, police said.

The boy, Daniel Rodriguez, died at Pomona Valley Community Hospital about 1:45 a.m.

Authorities said a teen-ager arrested a day after the shooting on suspicion of attempted murder will be charged with the boy’s death. The suspect was not identified because of his age.

Witnesses told police that a carload of males flashed gang hand signs Tuesday as they drove past the home where Daniel had been staying with his mother, then shouted a gang name and opened fire.

The boy, who was standing on the porch, was shot, along with a 23-year-old woman who also lived there. The woman, Olga Perez, was reported in good condition Saturday, recovering from a head wound.

The boy’s mother, Marie Rodriguez, 23, said she had been staying with Perez’s family for the past month, trying to escape her estranged husband’s life style as a gang member.

On Friday night, hours before the boy died, several hundred people carrying candles and signs marched in protest of the shooting through the drug- and gang-infested neighborhood in Pomona where it occurred.

A record 44 homicides occurred last year in Pomona, most of them gang-related, authorities said.

Pomona police officers, meanwhile, opened a bank account to help pay for Daniel’s funeral.

“I saw (the boy) at the hospital,”Detective Allen Maxwell said. “It was tragic to see him lying there lifeless.”

Contributions to the funeral fund may be made by contacting the Pomona Police Department.