5-year-old girl hospitalized after being shot in South Los Angeles

A 5-year-old girl was taken to a hospital Wednesday evening after being shot in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

The shooting occurred near 41st Place and Woodlawn Avenue.

Officer Mike Lopez with the Los Angeles Police Department said detectives were at the scene trying to sort out what happened.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded about 5:30 p.m. to treat a small child suffering from a gunshot wound, spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.

Lt. Raul Jovel with LAPD told KTLA-TV Channel 5 the child was transported in “very serious condition” and that it remains unclear what transpired that resulted in her injuries.

“We don’t want to assume it was self-inflicted; we don’t want to assume that it was a crime either,” Jovel told KTLA.

“This really impacted our officers; seeing a child that’s suffered an injury like this, so we’re also looking out for the welfare of our officers at this time.”