Two people were wounded early Thursday in a shooting that occurred after a Summer Night Lights event -- a program introduced to reduce gang violence.
An 18-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl were hospitalized at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center after the shooting at Wilmington Recreation Center. About 30 people were walking away from the Summer Night Lights event at 325 Neptune Avenue at about 12:05 a.m. when a man in a vehicle fired shots, police said.
Lt. Robert Long said the shooting appears to be gang-related.
"He fired into the crowd of youths," said Long.
The shooting occurred hours before the U.S. Conference of Mayors Summer Leadership Meeting was scheduled to meet in Los Angeles Thursday. About 50 mayors plan to attend the conference, and some leaders were scheduled to visit Costello Park in Boyle Heights Thursday night to see how the Summer Night Lights program works.
Villaraigosa was in Washington D.C. Thursday to lobby for a transportation bill, but he spoke with reporters on a conference call. He said the 2010 Summer Night Lights program led to a 50 percent drop in homicides and a 40 percent drop in gang-related crimes near the parks.
"Frankly, when you look at the dramatic drop in violence around these parks, it actually makes the case for expanding these programs,'' Villaraigosa said. "And of course we'll make sure that there are plenty of officers at all of our parks as we have in the past.''
Last Thursday, an alleged gang member was shot by rival gang members in South Los Angeles during a Summer Night Lights event at Van Ness Park.
Long said anyone with information about the shooting can call 310-726-7890.
