WILMINGTON (CNS) - The union representing Los Angeles Police Department officers announced a $20,000 reward today for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed a 12-year-old boy in Wilmington.
``This is an attack on the sense of safety of all Angelenos,'' Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said in a statement. ``It rips at the very fabric of our society. When the arrest is made we urge District Attorney (George) Gascon to not let the dangerous perpetrator out on bail and to actually prosecute this heinous act, using every enhancement legally allowed.''
The shooting occurred around 4:45 p.m. Monday at Denni Street and Blinn Avenue near Wilmington Park Elementary School, killing Alexander Alvarado, who lived in Wilmington and would have turned 13 later this month.
The shooter also struck a 30-year-old woman who was sitting in an SUV with Alexander, and a stray bullet struck a 9-year-old girl who was in the playground at nearby Wilmington Park Elementary School, where she was taking part in an after-school program.
The woman and girl both survived.
According to police, at least two people approached the Dodge Durango SUV and opened fire for unknown reasons. After the shooting, the woman in the SUV managed to drive a short distance away, stopping at North Eubank Avenue near East Anaheim Street, where she and the boy were found by authorities, police said.
No suspect description has been released.
Alexander's mother, Jenny Romero, told NBC4 on Tuesday the assailant may have been ``a kid.''
Romero said the wounded woman -- her wife -- and Alexander had just picked up Romero's 10-year-old son from school. The younger boy was in the SUV when the shooting occurred, but was not injured. Romero said two people ``popped out of nowhere'' and one of them opened fire at the SUV.
``My wife (saw) his face, and she said he actually looked like my son, looked like a kid. So a kid shooting a kid,'' Romero told Channel 4.
The LA Police Protective League urges anyone with information about this crime to call LAPD South Bureau Homicide at 323-786-5100.
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