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Another Homicide in Westlake
Attention is currently is drawn to protests in Westlake over the officer involved shooting that left a man dead on Sunday, but the fatal Thursday morning shooting of a 19-year-old man just a mile away has failed to see much attention.
Celeste Fremon at Witness LA describes Irvin Panameno, nicknamed Smiley, as a reformed gang member. He joined when he was 13, but found himself locked up and eventually at a probation camp where he learned to love poetry. Once free, he began to work for Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit that helps former gang members get jobs. He also started continuation school.
But then on Thursday morning around 7:30 a.m. as he walked to a bus stop, he fell victim to a series of bullets. "[He] was walking along Rampart Blvd. between 3rd and 4th streets, when he was approached by someone. Perhaps it was several someones," said Fremon. "In any case, somebody came up on him, then pulled out a gun and shot Irvin three times rapidly—BAM, BAM, BAM—once in the cheek, once in the back, once in the neck. Then the shooter vanished."
On Monday, his Facebook update was: "Livin life to da fullest never look back at da mistakes gettin my shyt together…."
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