Youth held in death of girl, 14

A 16-year-old boy and confessed gang member was being held Tuesday in the death of a 14-year-old Highland Park girl who was shot in the head while sitting in traffic Monday, authorities said.

The victim, whom authorities have not yet publicly identified, was shot while in the back seat of her parent’s SUV. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the assailant opened fire on another motorist, Fabian Aguirre, 33, of Highland Park, who had stopped his pickup beside the SUV.

Both vehicles were at York Boulevard and North Avenue 64, waiting for the light to change.

Police have not yet released the identity of the 16-year-old in custody but say he was standing at the intersection about 3:15 p.m. when he began arguing with Aguirre, then pulled a gun and started firing.

Aguirre, who was not armed, was struck once in each arm.

He drove away and was later taken to a nearby hospital and treated, police said.

The girl’s parents immediately realized that she was wounded and pulled into a nearby Rite-Aid parking lot. From there, she was taken to Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, where doctors placed her on life support, Police Det. Lewis Lenchuk said. An LAPD spokesman said she was removed from life support about 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The girl’s 7-year-old brother, who was sitting next to her at the time of the shooting, suffered minor injuries from shattered glass but was not hospitalized, Lenchuk said.

The suspect, who told investigators he belongs to the Avenues gang, was detained Monday on an outstanding juvenile warrant, Det. Lisa Governo said. He was ordered held at Central Juvenile Hall. Several youths who were with him at the time of the shooting were detained and released Tuesday, Governo said.

An injunction against the Avenues gang is in effect in the area.

Police are investigating the shooting as gang-related, but Lenchuk would not say which gangs they suspect.

Detectives were reviewing surveillance tapes from a Chevron station at the intersection.

On Tuesday, Dinorah Williams, 34, stopped at the corner where the shooting occurred to mark the spot with a potted sunflower. By afternoon, others had left votive candles and a white teddy bear.

Williams, a labor representative who lives a few blocks away with her husband and three young children, said she brought the plant to send a message. “I live in the neighborhood, and I don’t want people to forget,” she said.

She and her husband moved to the area five years ago when they bought their first home, Williams said. “We felt this community was changing and becoming a safer neighborhood.”

But she said there have been a number of recent shootings in the area, which she called “heart-wrenching.” She said she worries for her 5-year-old twin girls and her son, who is 7.

“With the situation so out of control, it’s putting them at risk,” she said. “We have a lot of problems, and it seems nothing is being done about it.”

Rosa Rivas, who described herself as a community activist, also came to the corner. She said she has lived in the neighborhood for 27 years and knows the shooting victim and her family, who live a few blocks from the crime scene.

Rivas said she believes there needs to be more intervention and anti-gang education at local schools -- particularly nearby Burbank Middle School.

“We have worked hard to improve the community,” she said. “Then you have these thugs who come to the community and just do what they want -- hurt.”

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molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com