CULVER CITY – A person of interest was reportedly questioned in connection with a teen’s fatal shooting in Torrance on June 18.
The victim was identified as Chyler Paton, 17, who was scheduled to attend Cal State Dominguez Hills this Fall.
The mayor of Culver City and school district officials are calling for citywide efforts focused on preventing gun and other violence among local youths after the teen, who recently graduated from Culver City High School was shot and killed last week.
Between 200 and 300 people gathered for a vigil at the school on June 24, more violence broke out with police responding to a shots fired call at the school’s football field after a fight broke out.
Culver City Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Atenza said officers quickly responded to the high school about 7:50 p.m.
People scattered when they heard gunfire, Atenza said, and those who remained were held in a containment area until about 11:30 p.m. as officers collected evidence and interviewed witnesses.
No injuries were reported, Atenza said.
The investigation was onging and anyone with information about what happened was urged to contact police at 310-253-6120 or email Atenza at [email protected].
In response to the killing of Paton and Tuesday night’s violence, a news conference was called Wednesday morning to discuss both incidents and the beginnings of “a coordinated, city-wide effort focused on youth violence prevention and gun violence prevention.”
Officers responded to a shots fired call at 8:58 p.m. June 18 in the 23000 block of Huber Avenue, according to the Torrance Police Department.
Officers found spent casings and the victim — later identified by the Los Angeles County Office of Medical Examiner as Paton — who was suffering from gunshot wounds, police said.
It was reported that a vehicle did a drive by shooting which led to a person at the party shooting back. Authorities are still determining which gun fired the fatal shot that killed Paton who died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office.
Witnesses with information about the shooting were urged to contact Torrance police at 310-328-3456.
City News Service contributed to this report.
