High School Gang Fears Move 3 Games : Burbank: Precaution against reprisals for killing were cited in playing contests in El Segundo.

Three high school athletic events were moved from Burbank to El Segundo High School this week as a precaution--not because police had evidence of gang activity involving students, authorities said Thursday.

Several parents, as well as police officials from Burbank and El Segundo, appealed to El Segundo school board members and officials not to allow their students to travel to Burbank for baseball and softball games with Bellarmine-Jefferson High School scheduled for Wednesday and today, said El Segundo Unified School District Supt. William Manahan.

The parents feared gang violence in retaliation for the fatal shooting of a suspected Burbank gang member in El Segundo during an altercation in February.

The move was made even though students from the two schools were not involved.

“We’ve had no threats or intelligence that would indicate something would happen if the El Segundo kids came into Burbank, but we thought it would be best if there was a cooling-off period, to let the dust settle,” El Segundo Police Lt. Mike Lunsford said.

The games--two Wednesday and one today--were the only ones scheduled between the two schools since the shooting of Aurello Perelas, 17, during an altercation that began in the parking lot of an El Segundo convenience store Feb. 16. The dispute was between a group of Burbank residents and a much larger group of El Segundo teen-agers.

Manahan said there were added concerns that tension might increase because the trial of the youth charged in the shooting, Jeffrey Dobrovolny, 17, started this week in Torrance Superior Court.

Officials do not plan to change the locations of the games next school year.