Girl, 8, Shot in Gang Fire; ‘Constant’ Danger Cited

The 8-year-old girl had gone to buy a 10-cent lollipop--that’s all--and was walking home when the shots rang out and she became another victim of gang cross-fire.

These days, it is not unusual for gunshots to be heard on Maple Avenue and 29th Street in South-Central Los Angeles, residents say, because the area has become a gang hangout.

But this time, an 8-year-old child--whose name was not released because of her age and the fear of gang reprisal--is in serious condition at County-USC Medical Center. She suffered wounds to the chest and abdomen, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Maria Torres, who works at Chayo’s Market on Maple Avenue, recalled Wednesday that the child visited nearly every day, never spending more than a few pennies.

Gang Member Sought

But on Tuesday, at about 4:30 p.m., some youths passed in a car. There were “two or three” Latinos inside a four-door blue and gray sedan, Los Angeles Police Detective Emmanuel Hernandez said, adding: “They intended to shoot a rival gang member.”

The child walked by their target just as the car pulled up. On Wednesday, Torres could point to the dried blood still on the sidewalk.

The intended victim, a gang member--also a minor whose name was not released--was shot in the wrist, Hernandez said. Ironically, a friend immediately jumped to his aid and took him to Orthopaedic Hospital, where he was treated and released.

“The little girl was left behind,” the detective said.

Afraid to Talk

But an area resident who had witnessed the incident called for help, and paramedics were on the scene in minutes. The woman witness also feared reprisal and did not want her name used.

“Every day. It’s every day, constantly,” she said of the gunfire.

Maple Avenue has become that kind of street. No one sits out on the porch in the afternoon, for fear of stray bullets, she said. No one takes walks after 2 p.m., when the gang members start hanging out, on the corners of 29th and 30th streets.

If you have to go to the market, the woman’s daughter said, “It’s a quick go, out and then back.”

“Every time I go out, I go out in a car,” said Josie Salas, another resident.

“I call it Lebanon, U.S.A.,” said Joseph Brust, who heads a 29th Street block club of non-gang youths who remove graffiti from neighborhood walls. “Everyone fears reprisals,” he added.

This year has been particularly bad, he said, explaining that the area “has become a habitual gathering place (for gang members).”

“We’ve had a problem down there,” said Hernandez, who works with the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit at Newton Division. “New gangs have started up in the area.”

But, he said, “The child had a right to be walking on the street.”