Conditions of 2 Boys Shot in Drive-By Attack Improve

Two boys critically wounded in a gang drive-by shooting as they played tag in front of their Hyde Park apartment house were improving, officials said Sunday.

Doctors upgraded the condition of both boys from critical, but the 7-year-old was reported to be in serious condition at UCLA Medical Center. Police said his 9-year-old playmate was in stable condition, but they refused to say where the boy was being treated.

Police did not release the boys’ names.

They were shot about 8:40 p.m. Saturday as they played with other children in the yard of an apartment building on South 11th Avenue, Lt. Michael Moulin said.

Witnesses told police that a red compact car carrying two men slowed near the children as one of the men called out a gang slogan. Seconds later, a series of shots were fired from an automatic pistol toward the youngsters.

Moulin said that because there were no gang members nearby, police believe the gunman was firing at the children. “We’re not dealing with civilized people here, you understand,” Moulin said. “Who the hell would shoot children?”

Detectives are looking for the car used in the shooting.