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Good news regarding last week's LAPD shootout in Glassell Park. The fourth and last suspect, a Northridge resident who was the driver of the suspected car, was arrested Monday in Granada Hills. It wasn't that hard either: "he was in the same vehicle police believe was used in the driveby," according to a report by the Daily News.
Last Thursday, a drive-by shooting occurred in the late morning, resulting in the death of a man who was holding his 2-year-old daughter. Marco Antonio Salas was shot 15 times and later died, all while the child was never hit.
Salas had just been shot nearby when the [plain-clothes] officers spotted the suspect's white Nissan and began following it. The Nissan suddenly stopped and Daniel Leon, 22, and Jose Angel Gomez, 18, jumped out and began shooting at officers, Leon with an AK-47 rifle and Gomez with a handgun, police said. [Daily News]
The LAPD Officers shot back, killing Gomez and injuring Leon. The third suspect fled on food and was arrested after the neighborhood was shut and locked down for around five hours until he was found. Now that the driver of the car is caught, all suspect in the case are being held without bail on charges of murder and attempted murder of a police officer.
The Glassell Park neighborhood is known to be gang-heavy. Reports in other media sources quoted residents saying shootings such as these are nothing new. Was the complete lock down of their community maybe a tipping point for them to start taking their streets back? To that, we hope so. Unfortunately, the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council does not have a good rap.
Photo of a separate incident by tinney via Flickr
