A gunman killed in a wild shootout with police officers in Glassell Park on Thursday was identified today as a 22-year-old Avenues gang member, authorities said.
Daniel Ivan Leon was killed Thursday following a fatal drive-by attack that left a bystander dead, authorities said. The identity of the 37-year-old man, who police said had no gang affiliation, has not been disclosed.
The drive-by shooting led to a shootout between gang members and police, shutting down dozens of blocks of Northeast Los Angeles for nearly six hours, stranding thousands of residents, keeping students locked in their classrooms and leaving two people dead.
Veteran L.A. Police Department officials described the bizarre midday shootings -- and the widespread disruption they caused -- as highly unusual, even in an area known for gang activity. It left the neighborhood littered with shell casings and its residents fearful.
Police blamed the incident on the notorious Avenues gang, which has cast a wide shadow over districts north of downtown L.A. for decades and continues to be active despite several high-profile attempts by authorities to shut it down.
The violence began around noon when the man police described as a bystander was shot more than a dozen times by suspected gang members as he held the hand of a 2-year-old girl. He later died. The toddler, apparently picked up by a passerby and carried to safety, was not wounded. As the gunmen drove off, witnesses told police, several pedestrians who apparently knew the victim opened fire on the car.
Minutes later, police attempted to stop suspects driving in a white Nissan sedan about 10 blocks away. Three men jumped out of the car, and at least two of them fired weapons at officers.
A man wielding an AK-47 rifle was killed by police as they returned fire, authorities said.
Another suspect was wounded and later found hiding under a car, where he was still holding a semiautomatic handgun, law enforcement sources said. Police said he is expected to recover.
But it was a massive manhunt for the two remaining suspects that shut down dozens of streets in Cypress Park until police arrested one of the men about 5:30 p.m. The other is believed to have driven out of the area, police said.
As police swept through the neighborhood, parents waited anxiously for word about their schoolchildren and other residents remained either stuck inside their homes or kept back by police barricades.
