Gang Member Held in Fatal Shooting

A 17-year-old gang member is being held at Sylmar Juvenile Hall on a murder charge after a Saturday night shooting at a party in Canoga Park that he and other members of his gang tried to crash, police said.

The slain man was identified as Thomas Myers, 25, who was shot in the chest shortly before 11 p.m. as he confronted the uninvited guests outside the house where the party was being held, police said. Myers ran back inside the house, where he collapsed and died.

Officers passing on patrol heard seven or eight shots and saw nine youths running south on Vanowen Avenue. The group then turned and ran east on Farrallone Avenue, where police stopped and questioned them.

A woman who attended the party and witnessed the shooting identified the suspect by his first name, which matched the first name of one of the youths being questioned, police said. She later picked out his photograph and identified him as the shooter.