Teen Surrenders in Fatal Shooting of Friend

A 14-year-old boy sought by homicide detectives in connection with the shooting death of his teenage friend in Van Nuys last week surendered to police Monday, authorities said.

The 14-year-old, whose name was not made public because he is a juvenile, turned himself in at an LAPD substation at Los Angeles International Airport about 2 p.m., said Officer Jason Lee, an LAPD spokesman. The teenager was arrested on suspicion of murder and was being held at Sylmar Juvenile Hall, Lee said.

Denrel Martell Hudggins, 15, of South-Central Los Angeles, was found dead of a single bullet to the head Thursday afternoon in an apartment in the 14300 block of Valerio Street in Van Nuys, where his younger friend lives.

A neighbor who heard the shot called police. But when authorities arrived, Hudggins’ friend was gone.

“He fled the scene following the incident that day and Van Nuys detectives have been attempting to locate him ever since,” Lee said.

Hudggins was visiting his younger friend who lived at the apartment with a woman named Gloria Vasquez, who had taken him in. Residents in the complex said they never met any of the boy’s family.

Vasquez’s daughter, Tshima Steward, said last week that the teen had invited Hudggins for the day to play video games and that the two boys were home alone. She also said no one in her family owned a firearm.