Suspect Arrested in Drive-By Killing : Gangs: The man, 19, is held on suspicion of murder. Six others were wounded in the Wednesday night attack in Long Beach.

Long Beach police Thursday arrested a 19-year-old man who they believe sprayed the sidewalk of a quiet neighborhood with more than a dozen rounds of gunfire in a drive-by attack, killing at least one reputed gang rival and injuring six others in the latest incident in the city’s record escalation of violence.

Aided by an eyewitness, police arrested Jacob Brevard, 19, of Long Beach, a suspected gang member, at about noon on suspicion of murder. Brevard, whose photograph was among those compiled by Southland law enforcement officials of suspected gang members, was apprehended at his home without a struggle after he was identified by the witness, investigators said.

Officers were attempting to identify the driver in the Wednesday night attack and two others who may have been involved.

“This is a pretty good-sized drive-by,” Investigator Ron Pavek said Thursday. “I’m really very surprised there weren’t more dead. The guy must have been a terrible shot.”

In fact, administrators at Dominguez Medical Center--directly across the street from the shooting scene in the 100 block of West Bort Street--asserted that there was at least one more fatality.

“We had two people here dead on arrival from this incident,” hospital spokeswoman Janis Pryor said.

Two other victims were also brought to the hospital with gunshot wounds but apparently fled the emergency room before treatment, she reported.

Police stood by their death count, identifying the victim as Laron Randolph, 21, of Long Beach.

One of the wounded, Ronnie Davis, 29, was in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial Hospital with six gunshot wounds in the legs and hips from what police believe was an AK-47.

In a brief hospital interview, Davis said he and about seven friends were talking on the sidewalk outside his mother’s house, “just having a few beers” when the violence erupted shortly after 11 p.m.

“Everybody was getting ready to go home when all of a sudden, a yellow Firebird or a Camaro comes by and started firing,” Davis said. “I just seen the bullets fly.”

Asked why his group was targeted, Davis said: “I have no idea. I’m not in a gang. I work every day.”

His wife, Valencia Walker, said Davis is an electrician in Torrance.

Davis said he did not recognize any of the four men in the car.

Police did not interview Davis on Thursday but, told of his statement, Pavek said: “He’s a liar.”

Homicide Investigator Tim Cable said the dress, activities and profiles of the seven victims in the drive-by shooting make it clear to him that all were gang members, or associated with them.

“We ask them (about gang affiliations) and they say: ‘We don’t bang.’ But if you look like a duck and you quack like a duck, but you don’t admit to being a duck, then what are you?” Cable asked.

“These people don’t really like to cooperate with us even though they’re the victims,” the investigator added. “That’s the coldhearted fact of life for the gangsters. Even if they knew who did it, they wouldn’t tell us because they’d want to get them themselves. That’s the way they operate.”

Neighbors said they heard rapid gunshots--said by police to number at least 20--and saw four men in a car racing away from the scene, leaving behind a slew of bloodied bodies.

“I was just lying there on the bed and I heard the shooting--lots of it,” said Helen Wright, who lives next door to the attack scene. “It scared me. I just got up and ran to the back of the house for protection. You could still smell the smoke from the guns.”

Never targeted before for gang attacks, the north Long Beach neighborhood may be only the latest example of the spread of gang violence in the coastal city, police said.

No current crime figures were available Thursday. But department officials said they are on a pace to break last year’s record homicide total--when a 47% increase over the previous year, to 97--gave the city the dubious distinction of having the biggest jump in serious crimes of any metropolitan area in the state.