Girl, 3, Shot in Brain During Drive-By Attack

A child has once again been seriously wounded in a random drive-by shooting involving suspected gang members, but this time the young victim is expected to survive.

The difference: About a millimeter.

Three-year-old Idalia Harris probably would have died if the bullet that hit her brain had landed only a fraction of an inch away.

She was shot Wednesday night as her mother parked her car along 168th Street in Artesia. One of the bullets shattered the car’s rear window and pierced the girl’s brain.

Idalia’s mother was unharmed and, as suspected gang members drove off, she rushed Idalia to the hospital, said the victim’s grandmother, Angelita Cruz. “It’s so sad,” Cruz said Thursday. “She’s just an innocent child.”

Doctors at Memorial Miller Children’s Hospital, part of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, performed emergency surgery Wednesday on Idalia, dislodging the bullet from her brain after a three-hour operation. “A millimeter here or there could have cost her her life,” said Dr. Zacharia Reda. “I think she is really lucky.”

After the shooting, police arrested six suspected gang members from Norwalk, including two juveniles. The four men are each being held in lieu of $1-million bail on suspicion of attempted murder, and the juveniles are being held without bail. They are all expected to appear in court Monday, said county Sheriff’s Sgt. Al Grotefend. At least two suspects are still at large.

Police believe the shooting was in retaliation for the recent killing of Ruben Mojica, a suspected Norwalk gang member. Authorities have no suspects in that homicide, but they believe Norwalk gang members blame a rival Artesia gang for the death.

Idalia happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time as the gang sprayed the block with gunfire, authorities said.

“When gangs are doing a drive-by . . . if a kid happens to get hit, they’re not concerned with that,” Grotefend said. “That’s the gang mentality.”

Idalia’s mother, Esther Harris, had just parked her car in front of Cruz’s home in the 11900 block of 168th Street when the carload of suspected gang members turned down the road, spraying homes and cars with gunfire, Grotefend said. Bullets were being fired from at least four guns, including a shotgun, he said.

Harris had planned to drop off Idalia and her 17-month-old brother at Cruz’s home, so Cruz could baby-sit them, Cruz said. The brother was unharmed.

Next door, Enrique Barragan heard the gunfire. He yelled at his mother, who was watching television in her living room, and the two took cover. By the time Barragan looked outside, Harris was driving away with her wounded daughter. “She thinks fast,” he said.

Police fear that the latest series of shootings is a sign that gang rivalries in the Artesia/Norwalk area are heating up again. “It eased up when they had talk of a truce, but it’s back to full scale again,” Grotefend said.

After the shooting, authorities searched the area, eventually spotting the suspects a few blocks away.

Police arrested Marcos Ayon, 19; Carlos Rayas, 19; David Romero, 20, and Joseph Vasquez, 23, all of Norwalk. Names of the two juveniles arrested--ages 15 and 17--were not released because they are minors.