Town Hall Meeting Grows Tense Following Series Of South LA Shootings
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — An emergency town hall meeting in South Los Angeles grew tense Wednesday night as community members expressed outrage following a series of shootings involving deputies.
The Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission and the LASD's top brass attended the town hall to hear complaints about three shootings that have taken place in the area since Sunday night.
One of the shootings involved a 16-year-old boy from South L.A. Anthony Weber left a nine-month-old daughter behind after he was fatally shot in the Westmont area Sunday, prompting an angry, distraught crowd to form at the scene of the shooting.
"We tired of being tired. So we got to sit down and we've got to air it out," one community said after the shooting.
Authorities say deputies were called to the area prior to Weber's shooting because a young man was reported pointing a handgun at a motorist. Arriving deputies said the boy had a handgun tucked into his waistband before he ran, prompting the deputies to chase after him.
Community members gathered at the New Congregational Baptist Church on 112th St. and Vermont Ave. Wednesday, where LASD Chief Joseph Gooden said he hopes cool, calm heads prevail as community members gather to discuss Weber's shooting and two others.
The chief said the angry crowd that gathered right after the shooting was dispersed in an hour and he believes it doesn't represent the feelings of the entire community.
"I can say that is just a small percentage of, you know, folks at that moment in time – and rightly so because they don't know the facts. They were upset," Gooden said, adding "honesty and transparency" was what the department was hoping to achieve through the town hall meeting.
Three separate investigations are underway in Weber's death.
The deputies involved in the shooting are on paid leave.