Boy, 16, killed at huge Covina party; 4 police agencies called in

A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot at a house party in Covina on Saturday night, police said.

Covina police officers responded to the 600 block of East Camellia Drive about 10:15 p.m. Saturday after multiple 911 callers reported gunshots. A large crowd of partygoers was gathered in the street, and the officers requested backup from the Glendora, West Covina and Azusa police to help disperse the crowd and contain the crime scene, police said.

Witnesses told officers that unidentified people took a 16-year-old male party attendee to a hospital with gunshot wounds, Covina Police Sgt. K. Sutherland said. Hospital staffers told officers that the teenager had died from his injuries.

The teenager is believed to have lived in La Puente, and he may have known the people who drove him to the hospital, Sutherland said. No other injuries were reported.

No one had been arrested as of midday Sunday, Sutherland said. Covina police were pursuing leads and piecing together the events that led up to the shooting.

Sutherland said that although some news outlets reported that the event was a “back-to-school party,” his department hasn’t released information about the nature of the gathering.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Covina Police Det. Preciado at (626) 384-5622.