Reputed Teen Gang Member Held in Killing of Party-Goer

A suspected gang member was arrested Saturday on suspicion of fatally shooting a 17-year-old Stanton youth with a sawed-off shotgun during a birthday party held for a friend of the victim, police said.

Felipe Luna, shot at point-blank range, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Garden Grove police arrested a 17-year-old suspect at his Huntington Beach residence nearly 14 hours after Friday’s 9:50 p.m. shooting, which occurred inside a rented room at the Jewish Community Center on Buaro Street, police said.

The suspect, whose name was not released because of his age, was booked into the Orange County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of murder, police said.

Nearly 125 people, mostly teen-agers, were celebrating an unidentified youth’s birthday when the shooting occurred.

Among the party-goers, police said, were members from at least three gangs from surrounding cities. None of the gangs were from Garden Grove, police said.

Police had not determined whether Luna was a gang member, but they felt certain that the victim was the intended target.

“He was shot at close range with a sawed-off shotgun,” Garden Grove Police Lt. Chuck Gibbs said. “There was no question who the target was.”

After the shooting, the suspect and many of the witnesses fled. Investigators worked through the night interviewing witnesses and gathering other information.

Some of the witnesses described the suspect as wearing a black jacket with either “Raiders” or “Kings” printed on the back, police said.

On Saturday afternoon, police arrested the suspect without incident. The weapon used in the slaying has not been recovered.

The investigation into the shooting is continuing and “other arrests are likely,” Gibbs said. Investigators had not yet determined the motive for the shooting, he said.

Administrators of the Jewish Community Center were shocked Saturday after hearing the news of the shooting. The party organizers had no affiliation Jewish Community Center and had only rented the room for the evening, administrators said.

In addition to their horror over Luna’s death, administrators said they feared that publicity would hurt the turnout at the “Freedom Rally to Support U.S. Troops and Israel,” scheduled for 1 p.m. today at the center.

Police asked that anyone with information about the shooting call (714) 741-5704.