Gang intervention activist fatally shot in South Los Angeles

A gang intervention activist was fatally shot in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, according to the CEO of 2nd Call, the nonprofit organization the victim worked with. 

It happened at around 3:15 p.m. near Crenshaw Boulevard and W. 59th Street, according to Los Angeles Police Department officers. They were called to the scene after learning that a man in his 40s was struck by gunfire. 

The victim, who was identified by 2nd Call as Reginald Foreman, was pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles County firefighters. 

Police said a man was seen running from the area after the shooting. 

A white van parked near the spot where the shooting occurred had a "2nd Call" logo on the side. The logo is for a nonprofit organization that works "towards community safety, justice, and liberation" by helping high-risk individuals, ex-felons, parolees and others in personal development, according to their website. 

Officials for the nonprofit said that Foreman was a critical part of their team who many looked up to. They said he was on call working on a fencing project to make the area safer when the shooting happened. 

"Very positive, uplifting person. Wanted to help others. This is truly a loss," said Skipp Townsend, co-founder of 2nd Call. "He was not the guy he was when he was 17 or 18, so, I look at him as being an influence. He could've helped influence to where we could've saved a lot more lives."

He said that the loss will leave a very heavy mark on their foundation.

"For me, it's killing me inside. For the team, I don't know if they're gonna come back out here," Townsend said. 

Thursday's shooting marks the second incident in the last two months to kill a 2nd Call activist, after Eric Washington, who was also a former staff member for California Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson, was fatally shot at a Fourth of July party in Compton.