3 Youngsters Wounded in Drive-By

Three youngsters, ages 12, 13 and 15, were wounded Friday in a drive-by shooting in Watts. In another incident, a 13-year-old traded shots with police in Culver City.

In the Watts shooting, the boys were standing on a corner one block from the Nickerson Gardens housing project “when a car drove by and unloaded a whole fusillade of shots,” Los Angeles Police Sgt. Peter Vanson said.

Vanson said he did not know if the victims were gang members, “but the shooters certainly were.” The 12-year-old and 15-year-old were listed in serious condition. The 13-year-old suffered minor wounds, police said.

In Culver City, three teen-agers robbed the First Entertainment Credit Union across the street from Sony Pictures Studios after disarming a security guard, said Culver City Detective Leisha Lakawa.

But an employee tripped a silent alarm, “and our officers were there in seconds,” she said.

Police said they arrested the 13-year-old, who fired at them with the security guard’s gun, along with a 15-year-old companion. No one was hurt. The third suspect, also a teen-ager, got away and was being sought Friday night.