13-year-old boy shot in South L.A.

A 13-year-old boy was shot and wounded in South L.A. on Sunday evening, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The shooting occurred about 6:30 p.m. in the 4800 block of McKinley Avenue in the city’s Newton division, police said.

The boy was transported for medical treatment at a local hospital in what was described as “stable” condition, said Capt. Stacy Spell, an LAPD spokesman.

Spell said preliminary information was that the boy had been shot in the leg, but few details about the incident were immediately available Sunday night.

The shooting comes amid a spate of sustained gun violence, which hit a 10-year high in 2020 in Los Angeles, and continued into 2021, which has gotten off to an even deadlier start than the year before.

As of Feb. 13, homicides were up nearly 38% this year compared with the same period last year, according to LAPD data. Shootings were up nearly 145% over last year, and more than 163% over the same period in 2019. Much of the violence has occurred in South L.A.

Police and community leaders blame a mix of factors — many to do with the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated shutdowns.

Police officials have said they are putting more officers into the neighborhoods most affected by the violence, and hope that easing COVID-19 restrictions will help restore balance and bring violence levels down.

Violent crime was elevated in cities across the U.S. last year, not just in Los Angeles, leading criminologists and law enforcement leaders to believe localized factors — such as LAPD budget reductions, or changes in local deployments — are unlikely to be the main cause of the uptick.