13-year-old boy shot in South L.A.

A 13-year-old boy was shot and wounded in South L.A. on Sunday night, in accordance with the Los Angeles Police Division.

The taking pictures occurred about 6:30 p.m. within the 4800 block of McKinley Avenue within the metropolis’s Newton division, police mentioned.

The boy was transported for medical therapy at a neighborhood hospital in what was described as “steady” situation, mentioned Capt. Stacy Spell, an LAPD spokesman.

Spell mentioned preliminary data was that the boy had been shot within the leg, however few particulars concerning the incident had been instantly obtainable Sunday evening.

The taking pictures comes amid a spate of sustained gun violence, which hit a 10-year excessive in 2020 in Los Angeles, and continued into 2021, which has gotten off to an excellent deadlier begin than the yr earlier than.

As of Feb. 13, homicides had been up almost 38% this yr in contrast with the identical interval final yr, in accordance with LAPD knowledge. Shootings had been up almost 145% over final yr, and greater than 163% over the identical interval in 2019. A lot of the violence has occurred in South L.A.

Police and neighborhood leaders blame a mixture of components — many to do with the COVID-19 pandemic and its related shutdowns.

Police officers have mentioned they’re placing extra officers into the neighborhoods most affected by the violence, and hope that easing COVID-19 restrictions will assist restore stability and convey violence ranges down.

Violent crime was elevated in cities throughout the U.S. final yr, not simply in Los Angeles, main criminologists and legislation enforcement leaders to imagine localized components — resembling LAPD finances reductions, or modifications in native deployments — are unlikely to be the principle explanation for the uptick.