Shoot-Out Leaves 1 Youth Dead, 2 Injured in an Apparent Explosion of Gang Warfare

A 16-year-old youth died and two companions were seriously wounded Friday morning in an exchange of gunfire near Crenshaw Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles that left their stolen car riddled with more than 40 bullets.

Police said they believe the incident was gang-related and that the degree of violence, which left the inside of the car speckled with blood and broken glass, represents an escalation in gang warfare.

“Obviously, this is not your normal drive-by type shooting,” said Lt. Dan Lang of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit. “We are under the impression that there is gang involvement, but we’re not sure of the motivation.”

Police said the victims traded shots from small arms and semiautomatic assault rifles with their assailants at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and 23rd Street. A police source said that two Soviet-made AK-47 rifles were recovered nearby.

Terry Alexander Jackson of Compton, one of the passengers in the stolen Toyota, died from wounds sustained in the 1 a.m. fight, Lang said.

Jackson’s companions, Darrin Butler, 21, and Vincent Watkins, 19, both of Compton, sustained multiple wounds and were taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Butler was listed in critical condition Friday with wounds to his chest, buttocks and arms; Watkins was in fair condition with injuries to his neck and right leg.

There were no arrests. Lang said no witnesses have come forward. He declined to identify gangs possibly involved.

Tony Massengale, assistant director of the Community Youth Services Gang Project, said he is not surprised that the youths have such sophisticated weaponry.

“It doesn’t surprise me in the sense that with young gang members the trend is to (get) more firepower,” Massengale said. “There’s no end in sight. You’re talking about firepower that exceeds (that of) our local law enforcement and, in some cases, the National Guard.”