Family Mourns Man, 26, Gunned Down In South LA
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A family is mourning a 26-year-old man who was shot to death in South Los Angeles Thursday morning.
Douglas Wooley was walking near the corner of 97th and Main streets around 10:30 a.m. when gunfire erupted.
"He was walking to the store, minding his own business," a female relative said.
LAPD Det. Sal LaBarbera added, "We do know that he had earplugs in. He was just walking down the street listening to music when the gunshots rang out."
KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen reported that it was unclear whether the shooter was in a car or not, but police believe the gunman has gang ties.
Wooley's family said the victim was a gentle soul who had to fight to live from the day he was born.
"He was born with sickle cell. [His mom] almost lost him as an infant. And he wasn't supposed to make it to 14. And he survived to 27 and someone just gunned him down like an animal," relative Joyce Ridgeaway said.
Officers said the incident was the second of three shootings in the area in the past 24 hours. The most recent took place at 82nd and Hoover just a few hours later.
"We are looking into the possibility of this shooting being related to other shootings in the area. However, at this point we haven't been able to confirm that they are related," LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza said.
Wooley's family is pleading with neighbors to help bring his killer to justice.
"People need to stop all this killing because it does not make sense. It's always happening in the black area. Black community. They need to come together," Ridgeaway said.