Boy Dies of Wounds in Gang Assault

A 15-year-old boy who was shot in the face while fleeing three men in Reseda died on Sunday, authorities said.

Wilfredo Marroquin was pronounced dead at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, a Los Angeles County coroner’s investigator said.

The Los Angeles boy and four friends were standing near their car, parked at the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies at 18605 Erwin St., on Thursday when they were approached by three men, one of whom asked the members of the group where they were from, police said.

Responding to the traditional gang challenge, the youth and his friends told the men that they didn’t belong to a gang, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Alan Sorkness said. The teen-ager and his friends fled in their car when one of the men flashed a handgun. The men followed the youths and fired several shots at them, one of which struck the 15-year-old in the face, he said.