Shot From Passing Car Wounds Boy, 6, in Head

A 6-year-old boy was shot in the head in South Los Angeles and taken to a hospital Sunday night, police said.

The boy was struck by a bullet from a passing car near East 87th Place and Avalon Boulevard shortly before 8 p.m. He was sitting in a white SUV with his parents and two brothers when the assailants drove past and began shooting, police said.

As they drove off, a man across the street came out of his house and fired several shots from an AK-47 at the fleeing assailants, police said.

The man fled to a nearby home, which was surrounded by police. He was later taken into custody, police said.

The injured boy was taken to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center by his brother who, upon arrival at the hospital, was found to be carrying a gun and was arrested.

The boy was listed in critical condition. Police were seeking suspects in a black car.

“Here we have a 6-year-old at home with his mom and dad, probably on his way into the house to eat dinner or watch TV, but still we have his name added to the list of countless others shot and at least maimed on these streets,” said Deputy Chief Earl Paysinger of the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Bureau. “His family will never be the same. This neighborhood will never be the same.”

At 10 p.m., detectives at the scene were informed of an unrelated shooting at 39th Street and Denker Avenue in which three people were injured, one seriously, police said.