LOCAL : Suspected Gang Member Shot After Scuffle in Arleta Home

A 23-year-old suspected gang member who had entered an Arleta home for unknown reasons was shot and critically wounded this morning by its occupant, Los Angeles police reported.

The injured Pacoima man was placed on life-support equipment at Holy Cross Medical Center after the 2 a.m. shooting in the 13800 block of Wingo Street, police said. His name was not released because his family had not been notified.

The incident began when he and a 17-year-old boy, both identified by police as members of a Pacoima gang, allegedly broke into the Wingo Street home of Isaiah Brewster, 28, and threatened Brewster with a handgun, Detective Al Ferrand said.

Brewster was an acquaintance of the two intruders but is not believed to be a gang member. The motive for the break-in is not known, Ferrand said.

During the confrontation, a fight broke out and the two intruders fled. Police said Brewster grabbed a shotgun from his home and chased after the 23-year-old, shooting him in the upper body.

Brewster was detained and questioned by police but was released. The juvenile was arrested in the neighborhood on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and was being held at Sylmar Juvenile Hall.