Four days, 11 homicides, several police investigations
Law enforcement agencies are investigating a string of deaths throughout L.A. County. Many are the result of drive-by shootings.
Area law enforcement agencies are investigating the deaths of 11 people -- mostly young men killed in drive-by shootings -- in separate incidents over the last four days in Los Angeles County.
The most recent shooting occurred Monday night in Pomona when officers found an 18-year-old man laying on the ground near West 11th Street and Water Avenue, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Rob Baker of the Pomona Police Department.
Craig Harvey, chief of investigations for the L.A. County Coroner's office, said a man had apparently jumped out of a vehicle and shot the victim, who died en route to a hospital. Police believe the shooting may be gang-related.
On Sunday afternoon, a 19-year-old man was shot and killed while sitting with friends outside an apartment building in the 120 block of South Westmoreland Avenue in Westlake, said Sgt. Ruby Malachi, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
A black sports utility vehicle with tinted windows stopped in front of the building, and a man with spiked hair, ranging from 25 to 30 years old, fired several rounds at victim Edward Ruacho, of Los Angeles, with a handgun. Police believe the SUV driver was a man in the same age range as the shooter, with a shaved head and wearing a baseball cap.
Earlier that morning, an 11-month-old infant, Daniel Reyes-Falla, was pronounced dead at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center after he was found unresponsive at about 6:30 a.m. in a bedroom in his home, Harvey said. No injuries were found on the infant's body, he said. Sheriff's homicide detectives are investigating.
Just before midnight Saturday, two people were shot in separate but related drive-by shootings in Boyle Heights, Malachi said. George Ramirez, 20, of Pico Rivera, was fatally shot multiple times in his garage in the 500 block of South St. Louis Street when a black Cadillac drove by, officials said. About a minute later, a 19-year-old man was killed on the same block by someone driving by in a white car, she said.
About 15 minutes earlier, a man was killed and another seriously injured in a shooting at the intersection of South Figueroa Street and West Colden Avenue in southeast L.A., Malachi said. Ulysses Real, 19, of Los Angeles, was taken to a hospital, where he died. The other man was believed to be in serious condition, police said. They believe the shooting was gang-related.
