2 teens shot, killed at street carnival in Lincoln Heights identified, suspect at large
A street carnival in Lincoln Heights ended in chaos after two teenagers were shot and killed Sunday night.
Shots rang out at about 9 p.m. Sunday in the 2700 block of Broadway. Police say one teenage boy fell to the ground on Broadway after being shot in the middle of the carnival. The other teen boy ran around the corner and collapsed on Workman.
They were identified by officials with the Los Angeles County Coroner as Javier Mejia, 17, and Winfield Lee, 17.
People who came to leave candles on Broadway say they don't think the two boys knew each other.
It's unclear what led up to the shooting, but investigators said it was not gang-related. Tuesday, police said there is no suspect information at this time, but officers are reviewing surveillance of that night and talking to witnesses.
"We've gotten stories that there were fights up and down the street, but we haven't confirmed that," LAPD LT. Ryan Rabbett said.
The street carnival, which was put on by the Boys and Girls Club, is an annual event in the community and had been going on all weekend.
Carlyn Oropez, the Director of Operations for LA Boys and Girls Club, said that the event, which they have sponsored for the last six years, is supposed to be a bridge between children and their community may. After the shooting, she's confident the carnival may never happen again.
"We don't have enough for those kinds of things in under-resourced communities like this," she said.
Jose Sanchez said he was at the carnival right before the shooting.
"Yesterday, I came with my family to enjoy the carnival. There were a lot of people. [It was] really, really nice," he said. But when his wife began to get concerned about the crowd, they left an hour before the gunfire erupted.
The shooter apparently walked up to the teens, and ran away after the shooting. No further information was released.
"We heard the shots," said Andy Juarez, the owner of Broadway Bodega, located in the area. "We were making pizza right there when all of a sudden you heard like two, three shots. And then after you heard another barrage of shots. Like, five, seven, eight shots.
The community remains shaken following the event, especially the other children who witnessed the tragedy.
"We all had our children here. Our children are still pretty traumatized, they're shaken up very bad," Juarez said.
A pair of memorial sites continued to grow throughout Monday, as friends and family left flowers, candles and messages to the two teens who died.