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HOLIDAY WATCH : A Season for Murder

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An orgy of violence claimed the lives of more than a dozen men and several women during the holiday weekend. These murders boosted the annual census of death, a list kept by law enforcement officials, toward a record high for Southern California.

Robbery was the desperate motive for many of the murders. Gangs, also, caused their usual grim death and destruction. A landlord-tenant dispute, an argument with a former roommate, a dispute over a dice game, a domestic quarrel and other disagreements, according to area police, claimed more victims.

On Christmas, an argument outside a bar near the Los Angeles Convention Center led to a fight that escalated into a shooting. A Los Angeles man was mortally wounded. An attempted robbery at a pizza parlor in Echo Park led to the death of a man who had handed over his wallet.

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On Christmas Eve, a Long Beach man stopped to make a phone call. It was his last. He was shot to death, police say, in the phone booth.

On Sunday, a Compton man attended evening services at church. He was shot, according to authorities, in the church parking lot by a gunman who stole his 1963 Chevrolet Impala.

On Saturday, a drive-by shooting, the signature of many gangs, claimed a 16-year-old boy in Huntington Park. A love triangle, police said, led to the deaths of a man and woman in El Sereno.

Incidents of murder and mayhem always increase this time of year. It has to do with emotional and money pressures that hit high gear. That’s a sobering reminder of the flip side of holiday cheer.

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