Teenage boy killed, 2-year-old shot at Granada Hills Community Center

A teenage boy was killed and a 2-year-old was struck by gunfire during a shooting at a park in Granada Hills, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police responded to a report of a shooting about 11:10 p.m. Wednesday night at the Granada Hills Community Center on Chatsworth Street, officers said.

When they arrived, officers found a 16-year-old boy dead at the scene, police said. The victim was not immediately identified. Police initially described him as a 30-year-old man.

A 2-year-old was also found suffering from a gunshot wound and was taken to the hospital and is stable, authorities said. It was not clear if the toddler and the man who was killed were related.

The gunman remains at large and police gave no motive for the shooting.

By late Thursday morning a small memorial of flowers and candles had been laid in front of the community center. A sign posted on the center’s doors state that all classes and sports were canceled Thursday but will resume Friday.

A few feet away, around a dozen campers from a local summer camp, most wearing neon green shirts, played happily on the jungle gym.

Camp supervisor Mayra Bonilla said the group comes to the park daily but that she had not learned about the shooting until after the campers arrived Thursday morning. She did not tell the campers what happened.

It’s usually very safe, Bonilla said, adding that the Granada Hills park is one of the cleaner parks in the area. She gestured to two Los Angeles police vehicles parked at both ends of the playground.

“I feel safer with them,” she said.

Residents of the neighborhood were also stunned by the shooting.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Christian Palacios, who lives along with his two children in an apartment complex across the street from the park. “In 26 years we’ve never experienced something like this.”

Palacios said he did not hear anything Wednesday night. He said the shooting made him feel uneasy for his 13-year-old son, Julien, who frequents the park to play soccer.

His son is here “morning, afternoon and most of the night,” Palacios said. “But with this, I’m afraid.”

“I’m happy I wasn’t here,” Julien said, “but it’s sad because someone died and the 2-year-old” was shot.