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Family, friends mourn youngest victim in Southeast L.A. quadruple shooting

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Family, friends mourn youngest victim in Southeast L.A. quadruple shooting

Loved ones are feeling shock, grief, and anger in Southeast Los Angeles where 14-year-old Javier Pedraza Jr. was shot and killed on Sunday.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Pedraza was one of four victims who were killed after being targeted at random by shooters.

Pedraza was gunned down outside Ellen Ochoa Learning Center on Sunday evening. A family friend says the young victim simply went out for some fresh air when he was killed.

“I have nightmares thinking about what happened to him,” Karla Lopez told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff. “As a parent, my heart goes out to his mom and his father.”

Authorities arrested two people in connection with the murders — 42-year-old Gary Garcia Jr. and 20-year-old Timberland Wayne McKneely — each facing four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Both men are believed to be gang members.

Garcia and McKneely face life in prison without the possibility of parole if they are convicted.

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A third person was also allegedly involved with the murders. Detectives arrested a juvenile in Compton on Thursday. Murder charges for the third suspect will be presented to the District Attorney for consideration.

LASD said they were able to pinpoint the suspects after a red Honda was seen at each of the homicides.

Authorities said the shootings took place in various parts of L.A., with victims being found in Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, and the Florence area, all of which are within a roughly five-mile radius.

Joseph Trevizu is an advocate and community leader who believes more should have been done by authorities to locate the suspects before the four victims wound up dead.

L.A. County communities on edge after night of violence claims 4 lives in 3 hours
A map depicting the location and timeline of four deadly shootings within three hours of each other in southeast Los Angeles County. (KTLA)

“There were four people killed in this spree,” Trevizu said. “And if the shot spotter would have caught that first person, by the time they were at maybe the third person, maybe they would have been stopped. That’s a systematic failure.”

Those in Cudahy — where Pedraza was shot — are hopeful that the suspects will face serious jail time if convicted.

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“For them to take a life senselessly, they deserve life,” Lopez said.

Authorities have only identified one other victim other than Pedraza. They say 24-year-old Kevin Parada, a husband and father, was killed in front of Martha Escuita Primary Center in Bell.

Los Angeles, Ca

L.A. police in pursuit of suspected car thief

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L.A. police in pursuit of suspected car thief

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department are in pursuit of a person behind the wheel of a vehicle that has been reported stolen. Preliminary, though unconfirmed, details suggest the suspect stole the vehicle, a 2012 Hyundai, in downtown L.A., near the intersection of 7th and Figueroa streets. The suspect is believed to have struck […]

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Los Angeles, Ca

2 women killed after being struck by BMW in Orange County intersection

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2 women killed after being struck by BMW in Orange County intersection

An investigation is underway after two women were struck and killed by a driver in Orange County on Monday night. Dispatchers received multiple 911 calls around 9 p.m. reporting that a BMW had hit two pedestrians at the intersection of Magnolia and Cerritos avenues in Stanton, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson confirmed. When deputies […]

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Los Angeles, Ca

Jurors to decide who's financially responsible for Iskander boys' deaths

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Jurors to decide who's financially responsible for Iskander boys' deaths

Closing arguments were held today in the civil trial to determine the financial responsibility for the deaths of 11-year-old Mark Iskander and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander, who were hit and killed while crossing the street with their family in Westlake Village in September of 2020. Jurors will decide how much responsibility two defendants bear for the […]

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