Tragedy Terrace : Homicide: Random shooting that took the life of teen-ager is the fourth incident this summer at Normont housing project in Harbor City.

Ramon Toro Jr. loved to dance. Wearing a cowboy hat, vest and boots, the athletic, 15-year-old paperboy known as Junior would try to outdo competitors dancing to rock, ranchera, country and more.

Or he would dance simply to lift someone’s spirits.

“Whenever my Mom was sad, he would say, ‘C’mon, Mom, let’s dance,’ ” said Carina Toro, Ramon’s 18-year-old sister. “And he always got her to dance.”

But last Saturday night, Ramon went to his last dance.

He was killed by a stray bullet to the head Sunday morning while returning from a dance about 1 a.m., riding in the middle front seat of a car full of six other friends and cousins. Police said shots were fired by a group standing on a grassy knoll in front of the Normont Terrace housing project, at Pacific Coast Highway and 257th Street in Harbor City.

The shooting marked the second time in a month that a passer-by has been killed by shots fired from the 397-unit complex. On Aug. 8, Miguel Moreno of Wilmington was shot and killed as he drove eastbound on Pacific Coast Highway with his girlfriend at 10 p.m. Moreno, a 26-year-old Cal State Dominguez Hills student who had his own contracting business, was hit near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Vermont Avenue.

Two other shootings near the complex also occurred recently, on July 23 and Aug. 3. Neither caused injury, but in one a passing automobile was struck by a bullet. Even police investigating the Toro shooting were fired upon by assailants who appeared in front of the complex and then disappeared inside, police said.

“It’s a big complex,” said Lt. Sergio Robleto of the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Bureau homicide. “Whoever they are, they know the complex, and there are a lot of places to hide.”

In all four of the recent shootings, police are having a difficult time finding the gunmen. Fear of retribution is keeping local residents silent, Robleto said. He said a team of LAPD officers has been handing out flyers to Normont Terrace residents asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the assailants.

But he added: “Witnesses are not coming forward.”

Ramon delivered newspapers for the Daily Breeze of Torrance, and the day he was killed had brought home a trophy for his good work. The award was his second since starting the job two years ago.

“He was a hard worker, very responsible,” said Cheryl Woehrstein, Ramon’s supervisor. “He got the trophies for being an honor carrier, for getting a certain number of new subscribers. The customers really liked him.”

At the Toro family’s three-bedroom, ground-floor apartment in Lomita, a steady stream of friends and relatives gathered to offer support and consolation. Two small floral bouquets rested on a table next to the boy’s trophies--two from the Daily Breeze, a third from a June dance competition.

“It seems so cruel when the child goes before the parents,” said Ramon’s aunt, Delilah Torres. “You can accept a parent’s death, but a child’s?”

As a new group of mourners entered the apartment, the victim’s father, Ramon Godinez Toro Sr., would rise, smile weakly, and hug each tearful visitor.

“My wife (Irene) is really sad,” said the elder Toro, who has done maintenance work for the past three years at the Palos Verdes Tennis Club. “This is real hard for her. I feel bad myself, but I have to handle this for the rest of the family. I feel like my heart has broke, whenever someone comes in and starts to cry.”

Eight years ago, Toro said, one of his brothers-in-law was murdered by gang members. “He was in a gang,” Toro said. “But my son was never in the gangs. That is why I feel so bad. . . . He is a good kid.”

The Toro family moved to Los Angeles from Jalisco, Mexico, in 1976, and has lived in the Cypress Street apartment for four years. Ramon was a student at Fleming Junior High School in Lomita.

“Ever since he moved here he was my friend,” said Sam Santoyo, 15, whose family lived in the same apartment complex as the Toros but recently moved a few blocks away. “We went everywhere together, we went to the same school. He was shy, quiet. He never looked for problems, When he had a problem, he would tell. He was always happy, always ready to listen.”

Teen-age friends of Ramon organized a carwash this week to help pay for the boy’s funeral. An anonymous South Bay resident who had heard of the tragedy donated a family plot at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes for Ramon’s burial. The funeral is scheduled today.

The generous response of friends and strangers to Ramon’s death, said his aunt, is a reflection on the youth’s character.

“Ramon was thoughtful,” Torres said. “Before he left the dance, he called his friend Guadalupe, to see if he had gotten home OK.”

A memorial fund has been established in Ramon’s name at Home Bank in Lomita. (310) 534-1400.

Normont Terrace Ramon Toro Jr. was shot and killed near the western boundary of Normont Terrace, a Harbor Cityhousing project. Police said witnesses saw the assailants run back into the complex after the shooting.