Disturbing Security Video Shows Suspect Firing Assault Weapon During Watts Shootout
WATTS (CBSLA) -- A 7-year-old boy continues to recover Thursday after he was shot by stray bullets during a gun battle in Watts yesterday.
Bullet holes outside the Watts home are visible reminders of the shooting that injured a 7-year-old boy while he was playing with several other children in the courtyard.
CBS2/KCAL9's Rachel Kim says the boy was hit twice in the leg.
"He's only 7-years-old, and he has to go through all this. It's not fair for him, it's not fair for us," said the boy's sister.
She told Kim she didn't want to be identified because she's scared. So scared, she asked CBS2/KCAL9 to blur the picture of her brother she provided just after the shooting.
The family is also frightened because the gunman remains at large.
On Thursday, CBS2KCAL9 obtained this security video which shows the shootout.
You see the suspect's light-colored car pull up. Two men get out and as they cross the street, they duck -- before they begin to run way. That's when a man in a black shirt turns around and fires towards the boy's house with a rifle.
"I seen the guy pull up and once I seen the rifle, all I thought was the kids, get inside, get inside, everybody get inside," said the boy's sister. "That's when the shots were fired. My little brother, we didn't even know he was hit until he went upstairs."
LAPD officers were in the area when they heard gunfire. When they responded, they saw one of the suspects running from the scene. Officers set up a perimeter and a massive search began from the air and on the ground.
Police did recover a rifle they believe was used in the shooting.
Meantime, the little boy's family hopes an arrest will be made soon. They say the child is so traumatized, he hasn't been able to sleep.
"He's such an amazing kid, he's so beautiful," says his sister.
The LAPD said it was unclear who the intended targets of the shooting were. As for the motive, they are investigating whether the shooting was gang-related.
No information has been released about the suspect's car, but if you have any information about the car or the suspect, you're asked to call LAPD's Southeast Division.
