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Gang Gun Battle Shuts Down LA Neighborhood

Streets, schools closed after police shootout with drive-by killers

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 22, 2008 7:02 AM CST

(Newser) – Dozens of streets in Los Angeles were shut down yesterday following a police gun battle
with gang members, the Los Angeles Times reports. Schools were locked down and residents ordered to stay in their homes as police searched for suspects in a drive-by shooting that left a man dead from a dozen bullets. When police pulled over suspected gang members, they jumped out of their car, fired on officers, and fled on foot.

One suspect died when police returned fire. A wounded gunman was found hiding under a car and another was captured after SWAT teams went door-to-door. Gang violence has flared up in the area in recent weeks, with much of it blamed on the vicious Avenues gang. "It's been getting worse and worse every single day," a resident said. 

LAPD Swat team officers wait for orders in this file photo. Police went door-to-door in a northeast LA neighborhood looking for men who had fled a gun battle with police in which a suspected gang member was killed.
LAPD Swat team officers wait for orders in this file photo. Police went door-to-door in a northeast LA neighborhood looking for men who had fled a gun battle with police in which a suspected gang member...   (Getty Images)
A wall covered with graffiti from rival gangs is shown at the neighborhood border line in LA. The Avenues gang is blamed for a steep rise in gang violence in north LA this year. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
A wall covered with graffiti from rival gangs is shown at the neighborhood border line in LA. The Avenues gang is blamed for a steep rise in gang violence in north LA this year. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)   (Associated Press)
Gang-related graffiti is painted on a Los Angeles fence in this file photo. Dozens of block in northeast LA were shut down yesterday after a gun battle between suspected gang members and police.
Gang-related graffiti is painted on a Los Angeles fence in this file photo. Dozens of block in northeast LA were shut down yesterday after a gun battle between suspected gang members and police.   (Getty Images)
A Ruger Mini-14 .53-caliber semiautomatic rifle is displayed with other weapons seized or bought undercover, at a Los Angeles news conference after law enforcement authorities fanned out across harbor areas of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., early Tuesday, July 31, 2007, in a huge sweep of gang members aimed...
A Ruger Mini-14 .53-caliber semiautomatic rifle is displayed with other weapons seized or bought undercover, at a Los Angeles news conference after law enforcement authorities fanned out across harbor...   (Associated Press)
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