Early Monday morning, a shooting following a party in downtown Los Angeles resulted in eight people being shot, with two confirmed fatalities. The incident occurred around 1:00 a.m. in the area of 14th Place and Paloma Street. As reported by KTLA 5, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had been called to shut down the party nearly two hours prior due to an unlawful gathering.
The LAPD noted that officers had previously responded to the location around 11 p.m. on Sunday to shut down a warehouse party and had detained one individual for firearm possession. A radio call later brought them back to uncover a large crowd and the victims of the subsequent shooting. The exact connection between the earlier shutdown and the later violence remains unclear, as officers continue to thoroughly investigate the incident.
Two of the victims, a man and a 52-year-old woman, succumbed to their injuries. The male victim was identified by his father, Judner Derisso, as 29-year-old Gregory Derisso, who had three young children. “She didn't tell me there was a party. They just told me he got shot," the father told City News Service in a heart-wrenching detail about the tragic events of that night. Statements regarding the condition of the six other wounded individuals varied, with some being in critical condition and others stable.
Despite the swift response by emergency services, many attendees ended up delivering themselves to the hospital amidst the chaos that ensued. Video footage detailed by ABC7 illustrates the pandemonium, with people frantically fleeing the scene as officers worked to secure the area. The additional challenge of managing the large crowd further compounded the disarray felt by the responders and victims alike.
LAPD Capt. Leticia Ruiz confirmed the suspicion of a gang-related motive, but with the incident still under investigation, no concrete conclusions have been drawn. Eyewitness reports, as mentioned in a piece by NBC4, allude to an altercation that may have escalated, though these accounts are still part of the ongoing inquiry. As of now, the names of the suspects, if known, have not been released.
