Compton neighborhood hit with illegal street takeover

An illegal street takeover hit a Compton neighborhood in the early hours of Monday morning — but it didn't last long — as law enforcement swarmed in to break it up.

Authorities responded after reports of over 200 people gathered at the intersection of Wilmington Avenue and Caldwell Street in Compton. People were reportedly doing donuts in the street while shining lasers and shooting fireworks in the air.

Residents say they're fed up with the almost-constant string of street takeovers in their neighborhood.

Neighbors say they feel like prisoners in their own homes during these street takeovers.

One home had a wall knocked out last month when a car crashed into it. Just steps from the home, there is blackened pavement and debris from tire burn-outs.  

"I do get angry. I do get mad," said Alex Ramos, a Compton resident.

She says street takeovers take place several times a week at the intersection of Wilmington Avenue and Caldwell Street.

Spectators yelled at a man to get down after he climbed up a traffic pole while smoke from burning rubber filled the air.

"It could happen today, in the afternoon, late evening, early in the morning. It's just whenever they choose," said a man who asked to remain anonymous.

He said that shootings have happened during takeovers when hundreds of people will show up and block streets and driveways. 

"They're very aggressive and confrontational about it," said the man.

LASD eventually showed up and cleared out the crowd of over 200 people, but neighbors say, the problem seems to persist.

"When [the police] do arrive, the only thing they do is just scare them off," said Ramos. "I don't see no arrests. I don't see nothing."

The Compton Sheriff's Station says there were no injuries and no arrests early Monday morning.

A watch commander at the station said that there's about half a dozen takeover locations in Compton that are organized over social media, which makes it difficult for deputies to get ahead of them.