Family: Teen, cousin are not gang members; Harbor City shooting was an accident
They disagreed with the police account of what happened and said neither the teen nor the cousin is a gang member.
As I reported earlier, police said the teen and cousin were arguing about their neighborhood gangs. The teen, police said, was an associate of a Harbor City gang, and the cousin is a member of a Wilmington gang.
During the dispute, the teen pulled the trigger and shot his cousin in the temple, police said.
The teen admitted to the shooting, but said it was an accident.
His older brother, who said he spoke to a friend who was in the house and witnessed what happened, said the police story is false.
"Get your s--- straight before u go out writing a story," he wrote me in an email. "The 16-year-old is my brother and he and my cousin had no argument. They were close to each other and my cousin is not from any gang and never was. Neither is my brother."
The brother said the cousin went to the Lomita Boulevard house to help the teen dress for the cousin's sister's graduation. The teen has a cast on an arm and needed assistance.
"They were just playing around," he said in a phone call. "They are friends. They care about each other."
He said police characterized each as a gang member because each has been in trouble with the law for doing "stupid s---." He wouldn't tell me what.
"They were playing around, just acting a fool. That's what the friend told me," he said. "My brother took out the bullets of the gun and he didn't know one was in there. One stuck in the chamber. He fired it thinking it was empty."
The cousin remains alive, but is in extremely critical condition. "I pray to God he pulls through it," he said. "He is a good kid. He takes care of his family, takes care of his sisters."
The teen formerly went to Narbonne High School, but now attends a continuation school. He called police and for the ambulance after the shooting, and did not run, the brother said.
After listening to both the brother and sister, who also called me, I explained that the story was based on information from the police. The sister told me to get a better source. (I spoke to the actual detective assigned the case.)
"The police can tell you what they want to tell you," the sister said. "They are doing an investigation. They don't know that my brother was a gang member. They are assuming this. They are stereotyping that my brother and my cousin are fighting about gangs. My family is very bothered with that."
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About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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About the Blogger
Denise Nix knew as young as grade school, when she spent every summer working on the camp newspaper, that she wanted to be a journalist. Denise has spent most of the last 12 years of her career in the courtroom. She joined the Daily Breeze in 2001, where she tracks and reports on hundreds of cases at every level of the justice system. And she's never, ever, seen a judge use a gavel.
E-mail Denise at denise.nix@dailybreeze.com.
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The two young men might not be gang members, but they were foolish to be playing around with a gun. What was the teenager doing with a loaded gun to begin with? "My brother took the bullets of the gun... What?! I'm sorry for the tragedy but I think the teen's brother needs to THINK before HE speaks and gets his brother into more trouble.
the detectives job is to investigate and they aren't done with their job. they weren't there at the time of the sad incident. all i can say is that my brother would never intend to shoot my cousin on purpose. i don't justify him at all, i agree it was a stupid game.they were best of friends and anyone that doesn't know the roots of the story has no right to judge, no one does! have respect for my family, we are not going through an easy time.
for the idiot worried about the hospital bill being paid, how do you figure we don't have the money to pay it?that was a stupid comment you made, you must not be a parent. i feel sorry for you on the day that you would have to go through such thing. i don't wish that anyone go through the pain that my family is experiencing at the moment. i ask once again for respect, save your stupid comments for yourself,how are you contributing to changing society?
Larry, you quoted me wrong.that just goes to show. if you recall i told you that it wasn't over any gang.have you and the detectives really put your heads togther to think about this? i have, i have all damn day and your conclusion is absurd.
the detectives could of said they don't know the motive instead they assume it was over gang warfare.how retarded! what's done is done but just know that it had nothing to do with any gang.
You are accurately quoted. You just don't agree with what police said about your brother and cousin.
I have no personal knowledge either way about anyone's gang involvement. I am not in a gang and I am not a police officer.