SOUTH LOS ANGELES : 8 Blocks Cordoned Off After Unrest in Riot Zone
An eight-block area was cordoned off Wednesday night near the flash point of the April 29 riots after Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, responding to a disturbance, were set upon by a crowd of gang members, authorities said.
No injuries were reported in the incident. About 200 National Guardsmen, along with backup deputies and Los Angeles Police Department officers, were called in to disperse the crowd of about 200 people, most of them gang members, said Deputy Hal Grant.
The incident began about 6:30 p.m. when deputies arrived at 106th Street and Budlong Avenue where gang members were holding what was billed as a unity march, deputies said.
The deputies were responding to numerous disturbance calls from residents of the neighborhood, investigators said. The deputies retreated after the crowd banged on their squad cars, after which additional deputies, the police officers and the guard troops were called in.
At a command post, Deputy Rich Erickson said that authorities wanted the crowd “to disperse in a peaceful fashion. We wanted them to leave the area and go home.”
No arrests were reported late Wednesday night several hours after the confrontation began.
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