Boy, 5, Dies in Surgery After Drive-By Shooting

A 5-year-old Compton boy died in surgery Thursday after being shot by gang members who were aiming at a group of rivals standing beside the youth, police said.

Oscar Vega, a kindergarten student, was standing in front of his house at 1 p.m. with his father, who was talking with a group of gang members, said Lt. Danny Sneed. The father’s name was not released.

Two gang members in a late-model turquoise compact car with a hatchback drove down the 200 block of South Rose Street and fired three shots at their rivals. Oscar, the only one hit, was struck in the back.

He died at 4 p.m., during surgery at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.

To investigate the shooting, the Compton police established a special six-officer team, composed of homicide detectives and gang experts. There have been no arrests, but Sneed said he is optimistic that the case will be solved.

“When a young child gets killed like this, the community usually gives up the suspect because they’re so horrified,” Sneed said. “So we expect to find the shooter.”

During the past few months, gang rivalries have subsided and there have been fewer gang shootings in Compton than in previous years, Sneed said.

“It’s been quiet . . . that’s why this shooting surprised us,” Sneed said. “We didn’t know of any ongoing gang disputes.”

Sneed has requested that anyone with information about the shooting call the Compton Police at (310) 605-5600.