Morovia, a usually tranquil town of 39,000 population in Greater Los Angeles and its surrounding communities have been jolted by a surge in violence between warring Latino and black gangs, it was reported on Monday.
The violence has left three dead and one paralyzed in recent weeks, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Two of those killed -- 64-year-old Sanders "Pete" Rollins, a black man, and 16-year-old Sammantha Salas, a Latina -- had no gang affiliation, said the report.
The suspect in the killing of a third victim, 19-year-old Brandon Lee, is a Latino. Lee may have had ties to the Du Roc Crips, police said.
Police said race may have been a factor that led to the shootings.
The spate of violence coincided with the release in December of parolees who returned home to the area. They were members of rival area gangs: Monrovia Nuevo Varrio, a Latino gang, and the Du Roc Crips, a black gang from a nearby unincorporated neighborhood, police said.
Shortly after their release, a series of cross-racial shootings erupted in Monrovia and its surrounding areas.
Behind it all "appears to be knuckleheads who have gotten out" of prison, said Monrovia Police Chief Roger Johnson. These days, "every community gets affected by what comes out of the prisons."
Monrovia officials have called in extra officers from surrounding cities and gang investigators from Los Angeles. They arrested three people in connection with recent shootings, though no arrests have been made in the homicide cases.
"There's a crisis in our city," said Mayor Rob Hammond. "and this is our response."
The violence prompted police to carry out raids on 44 locations in the area in a gang sweep. Seven suspects were arrested and items were collected possibly related to the three killings, authorities said.
Source:Xinhua
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