Gang Member Becomes 5th Gun Fatality Since June
Police grappling with increased gunfire in the Mar Vista and Venice areas said Friday they had no suspects in the slaying of a longtime Venice gang member who was shot in the community’s Oakwood neighborhood Thursday.
The killing of Manuel Gonzalez occurred just hours after Councilwoman Ruth Galanter called for an civil court injunction restricting the ability of gang members to congregate. Gonzalez’s death was the 20th shooting and the fifth fatality in Venice and Mar Vista since June. Police attributed two of the previous four shooting deaths to gang warfare.
Los Angeles Police Det. Pete Waack said residents called 911 to report gunfire at 4:20 a.m. Thursday. Police found Gonzalez, who was in his mid-thirties, on the sidewalk in the 800 block of Broadway. He had been shot several times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police files showed that Gonzalez had been active in the V-13 street gang for many years.
Waack said that although many residents near the scene of Thursday’s slaying heard shots, no witnesses had come forward.
He urged anyone with information to call Pacific Division police at (310) 202-4506.
Galanter will hold a public meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday at her Westchester office to discuss the violence.
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