10-Month-Old Girl Killed in Drive-By Attack

A baby girl died in a burst of gunfire during an apparently gang-related drive-by shooting Saturday afternoon in Compton.

Police said the child, 10 months old, was struck in the head by gunfire from a high-powered assault weapon outside her family’s apartment building in the 100 block of East Cypress Street. She became the latest--and among the youngest--of small victims killed by errant bullets in the Southland in recent years.

Two women were also hit, but their wounds were not thought to be life-threatening. Police did not release the identities of the victims.

The incident occurred about 3:15 as many people, including several children, were congregated in front of a trio of two-story stucco apartment buildings. A white car with three people inside drove down the street and rifle fire erupted, police said, before the vehicle sped off.

No arrests had been made by late Saturday but police said they had strong leads and were searching for the suspects.

Paramedics took the child to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:05 p.m., a hospital spokesman said.

Other children killed by gang gunfire include Stephanie Kuhen, 3, whose family’s car got trapped in a Los Angeles alley in 1995. In 1997, Erick Jimenez, 2, was shot as he rode on his father’s shoulders in Inglewood, and Celeste Reyes, 3, died as she played in her Rancho Dominguez living room.