Boy, 11, Held in Robbery After Adult Companions Flee

When two robbers fled from a home they had invaded after shooting one of the victims, they left a small clue--an 11-year-old alleged accomplice.

Los Angeles police were holding the boy at the Van Nuys station Tuesday on suspicion of attempted robbery, and were trying to locate his parents, who were out of the city, said Detective Mel Arnold.

Arnold said that the 11-year-old and two men left their homes in the MacArthur Park area Monday night and barged into a Panorama City apartment about 10 p.m. in search of jewelry. Apparently the robbers knew the apartment had a safe containing jewelry and other valuables, Arnold said.

Threatening the family members with pistols, the robbers forced them to the floor, demanding jewelry and cash, the detective said. As the robbers tried to open the safe, other family members arrived home, surprising them, and in the confusion one of the residents tried to flee through a window.

One of the robbers shot the man once in the arm, Arnold said. He was later treated at a hospital for a superficial wound and released, Arnold said.

The residents, including the wounded man, chased the robbers from the building. The two adults escaped but the residents tackled the boy.

The identities of the residents are being withheld while police investigate.

The boy, a student at a Los Angeles junior high school, has cooperated with police to an extent, Arnold said, but would not identify his companions.