Police Seek Gunman in Slaying of Alleged Gang Member

Police continued their search Thursday for a gunman who killed one man and injured two others during a shooting rampage at a Mission Hills condominium complex.

Salvador Ayala, 21, was slain Wednesday when gunfire erupted at the Franciscan Town Homes in the 15000 block of Chatsworth Street, Los Angeles Police Detective Frank Bishop said. Also wounded were Robert Jiminez, 18, and Krist Medrano, 20, a resident at the complex.

Bishop identified Ayala as a known gang member, but said that so far the motive for the shooting has not been determined to be gang-related.

A resident who asked not be identified said that shortly before 8 p.m. he heard about a dozen shots, followed by a woman’s scream.

Margie Carranza, who manages the 54-unit complex, said Ayala was shot near a garage and that one of his friends was gunned down near a swimming pool after he ran to get help. Stray bullets pierced other garages around the complex and one shattered a window of Carranza’s truck, she said.

“Everybody is terrified here,” Carranza said. “This has never happened here before.”

Carranza said after Medrano moved in Saturday she started receiving complaints from residents about youths scaling the fence surrounding the complex and “nonstop noises.”

Bishop said Wednesday’s killing is not related to a shooting over the weekend that left a 17-year-old Lake View Terrace boy dead and three other people wounded. David Duran, 17, died Sunday at the Van Nuys Pierce Park Apartments and two 18-year-old men and a 22-year-old man were wounded.