Wounded Children’s Parents Praise Police, Community

The family of a 2-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy who were critically wounded in a mistaken-identity shooting by suspected gang members thanked police and the community Monday.

Vanessa Smith and Dale Shannon, parents of the wounded children, Shantel Shannon and Ezekiel Ford, said in an emotional news conference that they were surprised by the outpouring of support and quick police response. (Hospital authorities had previously identified the children incorrectly by the last name of Smith.)

Det. Roosevelt Joseph, after receiving a firm handshake from Dale Shannon during the news conference, said neighborhood tips were invaluable to officers who arrested Reginald Carr, 23, of Hawthorne; Derrick Easely, 18, of Los Angeles; and a Los Angeles youth, 16, over the weekend. Ezekiel, who turned 14 on Saturday, was in stable condition at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, eating solid foods and responding to commands for the first time since the Feb. 15 shooting at the family’s home on the 6100 block of South Hoover Street.

With three wounds, the most serious to the head, the boy is expected to undergo rehabilitation to restore feeling on one side of his body, his mother said. The girl, suffering three wounds to her limbs, may be released in coming days from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, she said.