5 Killed; 5 Hurt in Weekend Area Violence

Five people were killed and five were wounded in Los Angeles-area weekend violence. Among those killed were a 16-year-old who was gunned down in front of his South Gate home and a 14-year-old girl who was accidentally shot in the head by her stepbrother, authorities said.

Two juveniles were wounded--one critically--in a late-night attack Saturday at the Santa Monica Pier, police said.

The South Gate teen-ager, whose identity was not released, was shot early Sunday as he walked in the 10000 block of Montara Avenue. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said they have not determined a motive for the shooting.

Shanda Lachel Davis, 14, was killed Saturday in her Norwalk home when her stepbrother took a shotgun from beneath a bed in their parents’ room, deputies said. The weapon accidentally discharged as the boy took it out of its case, striking her in the head, deputies said.

Two teen-age boys were critically wounded Saturday night when a gunman fired a .22-caliber pistol into a crowd at the Santa Monica Pier, Police Sgt. Harry Kutzbach said.

One boy was taken to UCLA Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the chest, police said. The other was taken to Santa Monica Medical Center with a less serious gunshot wound to his neck. Police have not determined if the attack was gang-related, Kutzbach said.

“There were a bunch of witnesses, but nobody saw anything or nobody,” he said.

Gangs were apparently involved in a fatal drive-by shooting Saturday night in Carson, sheriff’s officials said. Gunmen shot and killed Marco Pinedo, 18, of Carson, outside a home in the 2500 block of East Jefferson Street.

Pinedo died of a wound to the head shortly after being taken to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, deputies said.

The gunfire also hit two of Pinedo’s companions. Saifoloi Taito, 24, of Wilmington was in critical condition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center with a gunshot to the chest, deputies said. Fau Palaita, 23, of Carson was listed in stable condition at the same hospital with a gunshot wound to an arm.

A 35-year-old Whittier man was killed and his friend was wounded in gang-related stabbings Saturday. Anthony Muro was walking with Arnold Castaneda, 25, in the 13500 block of Placid Drive, deputies said.

Seven or eight men approached Muro and Castaneda and attacked them, investigators said. Muro died from his wounds, and Castaneda, of Santa Fe Springs, was hospitalized in satisfactory condition, deputies said.

A man was fatally stabbed during a fight in a downtown Los Angeles alley off Spring Street on Sunday morning, police said. He was not identified.