Police Call Off Tactical Alert in Eastside : Shooting: Tensions remain high in neighborhood where a teen-ager who allegedly pointed a gun at officers was fatally wounded. Councilman makes an appeal for calm.

Los Angeles police on Monday called off a tactical alert in an Eastside neighborhood even though tensions were still high in the aftermath of a fatal shooting of a teen-ager who allegedly pointed a semiautomatic handgun at an officer.

The Saturday night killing of 14-year-old Antonio Gutierrez sparked two nights of unrest in which angry Lincoln Heights residents hurled rocks and bottles at officers and set fires in the street. The worst incident of violence occurred Sunday when about 25 people were arrested after more than 100 officers clad in riot gear responded to quell the nearly three-hour melee.

Hoping to avoid a third night of violence, elected officials appealed for calm Monday.

“I think it is important that the community acts calmly and that we wait for the full police investigation to be reported,” said Councilman Mike Hernandez, who represents the tough, low-income neighborhood where Gutierrez died.

However, the councilman said that based on discussions he had with residents and police, he believes the shooting was justified.

“From the information I’ve gathered, the police acted appropriately,” he said. “We’re talking to people I’d suspect would lean to the young man who have admitted to me he shouldn’t have been carrying a gun.”

But even as officials called for cooler heads to prevail, some residents on Eastlake Avenue said police were to blame for the violence, alleging that officers killed Gutierrez without provocation and shot him while he was handcuffed. Police vociferously denied that allegation.

Seven residents who say they witnessed the killing told The Times that police fired without warning and that the teen-ager was carrying a flashlight, not a weapon.

According to the residents, four to six police cars with their headlights turned off converged on Eastlake Avenue as Gutierrez crossed the street about 9:40 p.m. Then, the residents claim, an officer got out of the car and fired two shots at the teen-ager.

As the wounded youth lay on the sidewalk, the residents allege, officers handcuffed him and fired several more shots.

“They shot him, handcuffed him and shot him again,” said Sonia Martinez, 41, who said she witnessed the episode from her front yard, about 50 feet from where Gutierrez fell on the sidewalk.

“That’s why all the people went crazy,” said Julie Noriega, who said she witnessed the same incident. “That’s not justice.”

Police spokesman Cmdr. Tim McBride hotly disputed the allegations Monday. “That’s self-serving, inaccurate information designed to fuel unrest in the community,” he said in an interview.

McBride said he did not know who would be served by misinformation, but added that “there are always people who are trying to foment difficulty and problems” between the police and the community.

At a news conference Monday afternoon at Parker Center, police insisted that the teen-ager was shot after officers saw him crossing Eastlake Avenue with gun in hand.

Police said two cars converged on the poorly lit area, one from Eastlake and one from George Street, but declined to say whether their headlights were on at the time. When officers on Eastlake saw the youth and stopped to investigate, Lt. John Dunkin said, he pointed his pistol at them.

“Clearly visible in his hand was a weapon, a handgun,” Dunkin said.

Believing that Gutierrez was about to shoot, Dunkin said, one of the officers fired six shots, hitting the youth four times. The officer, Dunkin said, had one foot out of the car door when he fired.

Police handcuffed the still-breathing Gutierrez and called paramedics.

Investigators recovered a fully loaded Tec-9 semiautomatic in the grass on the other side of a short concrete wall next to where the youth collapsed, Dunkin said. He did not say whether Gutierrez’s fingerprints were on the weapon.

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At the news conference, police distributed a photograph of the recovered gun and displayed a replica of the weapon, which is banned in the United States.

Police also displayed a yellow flashlight, about eight inches long, which they said was found in Gutierrez’s pocket.

Although the tactical alert had been called off, officials said the LAPD would maintain a strong presence in the area until tensions subside.

“If anybody thinks they are going to beat the police, they are stupid,” said Eastside Councilman Richard Alatorre. “When you break the law, you have to pay.”

Nearly 100 Lincoln Heights residents packed a nearby church Monday evening to talk over the weekend clash with police in a closed town hall-style meeting. Police said they planned to meet with residents throughout the week. Earlier, at the Gutierrez home on Eastlake, grieving family members, besieged by reporters, lamented that they could do nothing to bring back “Tony.”

“He wasn’t a bad boy. Why did they kill him?” asked his 80-year-old grandmother, Sarah Gutierrez, crying as she clutched a photo of the slain boy. She and other family members said Gutierrez was like many other boys his age, enjoying basketball, baseball and other sports.

But others said Gutierrez ran with the Eastlake gang that claims the neighborhood as its turf.

Nicknamed “Trouble” by his friends, Gutierrez had faced off with police five months ago, his mother said, when officers accused him of spray-painting a wall. On Sunday, several of his friends sprayed “Trouble / Rest in Peace” in black on the wall where the youth died.

Gutierrez, who would have entered Lincoln High School in the fall, recently joined neighbor Joseph Lechuga and his wife for daily Bible study and prayer sessions, hoping to find a way out of his dangerous lifestyle.

“This guy really wanted to get away [from gangs],” Lechuga said. “He knew he should follow the good path. He wanted to change his life.”

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Troubled Neighborhood The Lincoln Heights area remained tense after two nights of rock- and bottle- throwing in the wake of a police shooting of a 14- year- old boy who allegedly pointed a gun at an officer.

1. Youth shot at 9:0 p.m. Saturday 2. Later, crowd attacks police with rocks and bottles. Three people arrested. 3. On Sunday, police ask youths to move benefit car wash away from traffic. Later, police car is pelted with rocks. 4. Scattered bottle- and rock- throwing and garbage cans set afire on Sunday. * Times staff writer Paul Feldman contributed to this story.