A toddler was fatally wounded while lying in her crib just one week after her first birthday when shots were fired into the attached garage in Compton where her family lived, striking the little girl in the face, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The shooting took place just before 7 p.m. at a home near North Holly and San Marcos avenues, according to sheriff’s Lt. John Corina.
Deputies responding to a report of gunfire arrived at the home to find the child’s father holding the wounded girl, who was initially described by authorities as being 3 months old.
Since the fire department had not arrived yet, the deputies rushed the girl to the hospital themselves, Corina said.
The deputies arrived at the hospital within two to three minutes and doctors worked on the girl for some time before she was finally pronounced dead, the lieutenant said.
According to investigators, the shooting appeared to be gang-related.
“It looks like somebody drove up and were shooting into the house at somebody else and the baby caught a stray round,” Corina said.
Detectives only had a vague description of the suspects from witnesses who said the attackers were two black men in a four-door sedan.
Anyone with information about this incident was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), or texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.
