The surviving victim who was shot during an ambush shooting at a Los Angeles-area house party over the weekend, a shooting in which four others died, admitted to being affiliated with a gang and has a long criminal history, authorities said.
The Inglewood Police Department said the admission from the male victim, the weapons used, and the statements uttered before the early Sunday morning shooting led investigators to believe the shooting was gang-related.
The 1300 block of North Park Avenue in Inglewood, California, where the shooting occurred. The lone surviving victim admitted to being affiliated with a gang in another city, police said.
(Google Maps)
The shots rang out just before 1:40 a.m. and wounded five people. The four victims killed were all under 25 years of age. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner identified them as Marneysha Hamilton, 25; Breahna Stines, 20; Teron Whittiker, Jr., and Jayden Griffin, both 21.
Hamilton and Stines were sisters. Stines was celebrating her birthday, officials said.
When officers arrived at the scene, three people were dead and two victims were rushed to hospitals. One died on the way.
“This is a tragic loss for the families,” Inglewood Mayor James Butts said at a morning news conference. “These are sociopathic killers that have to be sequestered from society.”
Sunday’s shooting had the largest number of victims in Inglewood since the 1990s. The city’s entire homicide unit is investigating the crime. The surviving victim said he was affiliated with a gang in another city, police said, without specifying which gang or city.
The rampage broke out at a short-term rental home, KCBS-TV reported.
“We hear the shots,” a neighbor told the news outlet. “At first I thought it was firecrackers but then I thought ‘This sounds like war.'”
Inglewood mayor James Butts aka James T. Butts poses at the LA Stadium & Entertainment District construction site.
( Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)
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Investigators said it appeared at least one assault rifle was used and evidence indicates that at least one handgun was used. They believe multiple suspects were involved.
No arrests have been announced.
