Drive-By Shooting Hospitalizes Boy, 5, Girl, 13

A 5-year-old boy was critically injured and a 13-year-old girl was wounded in the leg in what police described as a drive-by shooting in South-Central Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The boy, whose identity was not immediately available, was taken to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, where he was undergoing surgery late Tuesday. The girl, who also was not identified, was in serious condition at the same hospital, Los Angeles Police Lt. Ed Wilson said.

Investigators said a known gang member was standing near the children as they played outside their apartment house in the 9400 block of South Central Avenue, and may have been the intended victim. He was not hurt.

The boy’s mother scooped up her son and rushed him to the hospital, police said. Paramedics arrived shortly afterward to transport the girl.

A car with two suspects inside sped off after the 4:30 p.m. shooting, police said. There have been no arrests in the shooting.

“It’s a real shame,” said a neighbor who heard the gunshots. “He (the victim) just lives across the street, and I always see him playing out there. Isn’t it a shame a little kid just can’t play outside anymore.”