Shots fired in Echo Park this afternoon
Things look pretty peaceful right now at Echo Park Lake, but The Eastsider LA is reporting that shots were fired earlier this afternoon near Laguna and Echo Park Avenue, leaving one man injured:
An afternoon shooting near Echo Park Lake left one man injured in what one resident described a “Wild West” scene, police said. The victim told police he was fired upon by suspects in a car on Echo Park Avenue, said Sgt. Michael Mabie with the Rampart Division. Details are still sketchy but the man – who was shot in the leg and was grazed in the back by another bullet – was able to drive himself or have a relative drive him to a nearby hospital, Mabie said. No suspects were in custody and police were still interviewing residents.
A resident commented on the article, saying, “First thing I screamed as I went outside is anybody hurt? It has been over 15 years since I have heard so many shots. Thanks to all the neighbors on Laguna for the descriptions given to the police.”
There’s a LOT of tagging on along Laguna Avenue near Laveta Terrace, but the Eastsider article says it’s unclear the tagging is related.
Click here to read the full article.
UPDATE:
The Eastsider LA reported an update last night, saying the shooting does appear to be gang related and that the victim is believed to be a gang member.
If you have any information about the incident on Sunday, call the Rampart Division at (213) 484-3400.
From a fellow concerned blogger who summarized the destructiveness of guns well: ‘Just to remind everyone, here’s a few things gunshots can do:
– Kill children.
– Paralyze people from the waist or neck down.
– Give you brain damage.
– Put you in jail for years on end where there’s a good chance you’ll be violated sexually or violate someone else
sexually.
– Make you lose your spleen and other vital organs.
– Make you piss through a tube and shit through your stomach.’
Because gunshots and gang violence do not occur in isolation, let’s look at a recent timeline of incidents:
– 8/14, 1PM!!! – Echo Park Lake vicinity – 10-12 shots, one man injured
– 8/6, 10:30PM – northern Echo Park (Ewing St?) – between 5-18 shots, possibly semi-automatic/automatic
– 7/31 12:30PM – Angelino Heights area – 5 gunshots heard
– 7/28 3:30AM – Angelino Heights (Ridge Way) – 6 gunshots heard
– 7/25 3:00AM – Echo Park Lake vicinity (Montrose St.) – shot fired during bike robbery
– 6/24, 4PM!!! – Pot clinic robbery/murder – 4 men rob business, killing 1 and severely injuring another, both victims did not resist.
– 6/21, 2AM – outside The Echo club – 8-10 shots fired at crowd injuring 3
– 6/30, 2:30PM!!! – Near Rosemont Elementary (Temple at Rosemont) – several shots fired.
– 5/18, 4:00PM!!! – Edgeware and Court St. – gun shots critically injure gang-member (this occurred one block from where 4-year-old Roberto Lopez, Jr. was killed by a stray bullet a year before)
– 5/11, 3PM!!! – Echo Park vicinity (stairs near Belmont and Bellevue), 18-year-old injured in shooting
This is just a shortlist of the past few months, meant only to put things in perspective. Despite how peaceful it seems most of the time, we have a REAL, UNACCEPTABLE problem in Echo Park. And recently things seems to be getting worse. All of these bullets land somewhere.
I know many of you who read this blog care deeply for Echo Park and the surrounding Eastside communities. As we’ve seen—and heard (gun shots)—far too often recently, the destructive lifestyles of a few selfish and troubled individuals can really make it a less safe place for everyone—regardless of age or background.
It’s crazy to think that this type of destructive activity can become normalized. We talk about it when things flare up and then life returns to normal until the next incident.
At times, it’s easy to feel powerless when we witness and/or hear about all of the senseless violence in our own backyard. But there is actually a lot we can do, and it’s really easy and straightforward.
We all have cell phones these days, and when we see something suspicious, REPORT IT. Stop something before it happens and help the police put pressure on those who harm or intend to harm our community.
Most people can easily sense what ‘suspicious’ means…Like small groups of mainly young men hanging out in cars, alleyways, yards, and on the street with similar colored clothing, tattoos, mocking words and other indications of gang involvement. I suspect many of us have been made quite uncomfortable by things like these in the past.
Reporting both suspicious activity as well as the obvious yelling, gunshots, tires screeching, etc. is important, because you are the ones who will notice things first, and therefore can prevent violence from happening.
Here are the numbers. Please put them in your phone’s contacts:
Rampart Division Police (our closest station):
877-275-5273
Graffiti Removal (this is a major preventative action, even if you don’t live there, report it):
311
*** Just make sure you’re a safe, unrecognizable distance when you report things and don’t associate yourself too closely with where you live.
That’s it, it’s really very simple for the average, non-violent, Echo Park onlooker to not feel powerless in their own community. Keep an eye out and just report things that seem ‘off’ to you. The police are an asset to us and their sole purpose is to help keep our community safe. Your gut-feeling could save someone’s life. The people who hurt us and make us live in fear need to know that THEY ARE NOT WELCOME HERE. I think we’ve been too easy on them. Guns, gang violence, and murders are not normal. Please do your part.
“* Update @ 5:34 P.M.: The shooting does appear to be gang related, ”
Does appear to be gang-related – not doesn’t.
Thanks dwiff, correction made 🙂
Currently I can’t have LA Times delivered to my Echo Park apartment because the delivery driver got pulled out of his car twice by ‘groups hanging out’. LA Times considers the street a ‘closed area’ and unsafe for their drivers. I called LAPD last night about a suspicious group hanging out and drinking at the dead end street where I live. The area is without a doubt a frequent gang hang out. Graffiti marks the area twice a month or more. When I called to report ‘gang’ activity, I was chastised by the policeman and asked “How do you know they are in a gang, where they throwing gang signs?” He treated my call as if I was out of line and had no right to report the activity. About four months ago there were helicopters sweeping my front porch with spot lights at 3:00 am. This lasted 30 minutes or more and then was followed by flashlight toting police decended the stairs into my front yard. When I went out to inquire what was going on, the police were very complacent and I was told I was being too curious. I don’t want to say, the police aren’t doing their job. But I don’t think they see this as an issue. This is normal to them and this is only their job. I think it is our duty as community to push the issue that this is not normal and this is our neighborhood. I want my newspaper back!
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