Family and friends gathered for an emotional vigil Monday night in L.A.’s Westlake neighborhood to remember a 17-year-old boy who was shot and killed Saturday night.  

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the original call regarding an assault with a deadly weapon with shots fired came in around 7:10 p.m. in the 200 block of North Lake Street across from Lake Street Primary School.   

The 17-year-old victim, identified by family as Gabriel Quintas, suffered at least one gunshot wound to the chest, police said, and he was quickly transported to a local hospital in critical condition.   

He died due to his injuries on Sunday, law enforcement officials confirmed. 

“My son, he had a beautiful spirit. He was very special, he was very unique,” the teen’s mother, Marisel Rams told KTLA at the vigil. “He was kindhearted. He wanted everybody to be in a good mood and whoever killed him, they didn’t know that. They didn’t know him. They took my boy from me. I don’t even know what else to say.”  

The victim’s father spoke out after the incident, asking somebody to come forward to help his son get justice. 

“The people that did this, they know Gabriel and Gabriel’s friends, they all know each other,” Angelo Quintas told KTLA. “Somebody knows something. Find it in your heart to help give Gabriel some justice because he doesn’t deserve this. He was a good person, a kind person and he doesn’t deserve to just be murdered.” 

A GoFundMe has been organized to help raise funds for Gabriel’s burial.  

So far, police have not released any suspect descriptions.  

Los Angeles Metro trains will be arriving more frequently to accommodate increased demand as the transit service continues to rebound toward pre-pandemic ridership numbers.

Beginning Dec. 10, Metro will be increasing train frequencies along the A, C, E and K lines, reducing the time between trains by several minutes.

On the A and E lines, trains will be taking off every eight minutes, two minutes faster than previous, during weekday peak hours. On weekends, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., trains will arrive every 10 minutes instead of 12.

Another new change coming on the A and E lines that has been a frequent request of riders — later trains.

Metro announced that two additional trains will be added at the end of the night, extending service on the A and E lines by 40 minutes every night. The later trains will be a welcome change for ridgers departing from Long Beach, Azusa and Santa Monica, Metro officials said, with late departures taking place after 11:30 p.m.

In addition to the A and E Lines getting improved frequency, the C Line will also have reduced wait times for trains. Train frequency has been slashed from every 15 minutes to every 10 minutes on the C Line during midday weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends.

The K Line will see waits drop from 12 minutes to 10 minutes during midday hours on weekdays. Weekend service, however, will operate every 20 minutes due to ongoing construction of the LAX/Metro station and testing work to connect the C and K lines.

The decision to offer increased train frequencies and later service is a result of rider feedback, Metro said, particularly with rebounding ridership numbers and the opening of three new train stations that provide easier access in downtown Los Angeles.

The Metro Regional Connector opened in June, bringing with it better downtown service and reducing the need to transfer for many riders.

In October, Metro hit an important milestone, topping more than 950,000 average weekday riders, making October its busiest month since the pandemic began. Metro officials say it’s the second-straight month that milestone has been surpassed.

In October 2019, Metro saw more than 33 million riders on bus and rail. This October, that number reached more than 24 million — a far cry from pre-pandemic totals, but continuing along a trend of a consistent bounce-back.

“Our ridership on weekdays is 79% of Oct 2019. On weekends we’re at 92% of Oct 2019 ridership,” Metro officials said on X, previously Twitter. “We think the gains are result of restoring more bus & train service, increased focus on public safety, programs to make riding affordable & more folks out-and-about.”

Bus ridership continues to make up the bulk of Metro’s service, accounting for nearly four-times the amount of riders utilizing train.

Metro will also updating the schedules for 37 weekday, 29 Saturday and 24 Sunday buses, which it says is necessary to “improve reliability, and route and stop changes to various bus lines to improve service for riders.”

To see a complete list of bus route schedule changes, click here.

An ambitious multi-million-dollar project begins Monday to improve safety and traffic flow along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, including the area where four Pepperdine University students were killed in a crash in October.

As part of the “Traffic Signal Synchronization Project,” crews will install communication lines between existing traffic signals on the PCH between John Tyler Drive and Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Officials said this will allow signals to be controlled remotely by Caltrans to lower speeds and reduce congestion.

“The new equipment will capture real-time traffic data and send it to the traffic signal controllers, which will use state-of-the art software to adjust the traffic signal timing to actual traffic volume,” the City of Malibu said on its website. “Vehicles going the speed over the speed limit will encounter red lights, while those going the speed limit will encounter green lights.”

The project also includes new surveillance cameras at each intersection, new signal poles, electronic message signs and other improvements.

The $34.6 million project was approved by the Malibu City Council in 2017 to deal with traffic flow and safety concerns, well before the Oct. 17 crash that claimed the lives of Pepperdine students Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams.

Authorities say a speeding driver slammed into parked cars that struck the students as they walked along the PCH near the Malibu Pier. The driver, 22-year-old Fraser Bohm, faces four counts of murder.

His attorney claims he was being chased by another driver.

“Since 2010, 58 individuals have died in accidents on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and it is no surprise that improving safety on this iconic highway has been a top priority for our City,” said Mayor Steve Uhring. “Once completed [the project] will make PCH safer for our residents, for the 40,000 commuters who pass through Malibu every day and for the 15 million visitors who visit Malibu every summer.”

According to Caltrans, the PCH handles approximately 40,500 vehicles per day during peak hours in the summer.

The project is expected to take up to a year to complete. Drivers and residents can expect alternating lane closures and lower speed limits in the construction zones.