Rival Gangs Open Fire, Boy Playing in Park Dies

A 9-year-old boy was fatally shot Wednesday afternoon while playing with friends in a South-Central Los Angeles park when a gun battle erupted between what police said were rival street gangs.

DeAndre Brown reportedly was struck in the neck by a stray rifle bullet fired from the far corner of Mount Carmel Park at 70th and Hoover streets about 3:15 p.m. He was rushed by paramedics to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood, where he died less than an hour later.

Witnesses told investigators two or three young men--one of whom had a rifle--walked into view at the corner of 70th Street and Menlo Avenue and opened fire through the chain link fence at several members of another gang inside the city-owned park.

Return Fire

Those being attacked fired back, said Detective Vern E. King of the Police Department’s South Bureau CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) unit.

The boy apparently was the battle’s only victim. He was struck as he played in a sandy, tots’ area of slide, swings and climbing apparatus at 71st and Hoover.

A young woman who witnessed the shooting said bystanders tried to help the boy, but that it was futile, because “the bullet was up in his windpipe and he was unable to breathe.”

There was an initial report that the shot was from an M-16 semiautomatic rifle, but that was not immediately confirmed by police.

King said it was not clear how many juveniles were involved in the shoot-out, or how many children were in the play area, because “everybody split.”

No suspects were yet reported in custody Wednesday evening.

King could not say how many shots were fired. At least 10 spent cartridges littered the street and sidewalk near the corner of 70th and Menlo. It was not known how many might have been found inside the cordoned-off park.

“A 9-year-old playing in a park should be safe,” said King. “But with the gangs running the streets as they do . . . it’s a tragedy.”

King indicated that, after interviewing witnesses, officers had a good idea what gang factions were involved. But he declined to identify them in order to deny them the kind of publicity he suggested they might enjoy.

Not Anxious to Talk

Residents of the neighborhood where gangs have been a long-running problem were not anxious to talk about the shooting.

A teen-age boy said he had heard from his nearby home what sounded like more than 20 gunshots, rapid-fire, “like a machine gun.”

He said: “There was two dudes who drove up over there and got out of their car and walked to where they started firing. Then they ran back down Menlo and drove away.”

He would not give his name.

“I don’t need my name in the damn paper,” he said. “Those are gang guys.”

Others--even small children--stood gazing at the scene, but said nothing.