Woman, 18, Killed Over Color of Her Clothes, Police Say
A woman who had just turned 18 on Friday was fatally shot by gang members in the Hyde Park area because a gang member was offended by the color of her clothing, police said.
The shooting occurred about 1:45 p.m. at a gas station at West Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, said Det. Rudy Lemos of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The woman, identified as Lee Ambra Smith, and her boyfriend were pumping gas when several male gang members in another car pulled up alongside them and one of the gang members fired several shots, Lemos said.
The woman was wounded in the head and died at Martin Luther King Jr. / Drew Medical Center. Her boyfriend was unhurt.
Lemos would not disclose the color of the woman’s clothing, but wearing a rival gang’s colors can turn innocent bystanders into targets.
Neither the woman nor her boyfriend had gang ties, Lemos said.
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