Woman Shot to Death in Front of Her Home

A 23-year-old teacher’s assistant was shot to death in front of her home, authorities said.

Latoya Jackson was standing with a group of friends and family outside her parents’ house in the 1600 block of West 127th Street in the unincorporated Athens area of Los Angeles County late Monday when a man walked up to the group and opened fire.

The gunman fired one bullet at the group, fatally striking Jackson in the upper body, sheriff’s officials said.

Witnesses said no one in the group knew the shooter. He was last seen running north on nearby Denker Avenue.

At Jackson’s home Tuesday, family and friends cried quietly, still in shock.

Clair Bennett, the victim’s sister-in-law, said the evening started off uneventfully. Jackson had come home from her job as a special education assistant at nearby Washington Preparatory High School, where she had worked about two years. She washed her hair and took her beloved dog, Quincy, for a walk. She sat outside with the family for a while, but then decided it was time to call it a night.

“Then the conversation just kind of started up again, and she stayed out here a little longer,” Bennett said. That’s when Bennett and the others saw the man walk toward them and shoot.

Jackson died at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center a short time later.

Family members said Jackson wanted to be a corrections officer and was preparing to take a qualifying exam Monday.”She was very independent and wanted to better herself,” Bennett said.

Tanya Silburn, a friend since childhood, recalled tearfully that Jackson was “outgoing and always willing to help somebody. She was always laughing and joking.”

Co-workers described her as a quiet young woman who had a way with kids. “The kids loved her because she knew how to talk to them,” said Karen Hill, a teacher’s assistant at the school. “They knew if they did something wrong, she wasn’t one of those teachers who would be loud and embarrass them.”