It’s happened again.
According to the Beverly Hills Courier, a man was shot and killed while riding his bike in the Silver Lake area around 9:15 Sunday night; The Eastsider LA puts the time at 9:30 pm.
The shooting occurred near the intersection of Hoover Street and Del Mar Avenue, when the rider was bumped and knocked to the ground by a car, then shot by one or more people in the vehicle.
The rider has not been publicly identified pending notification of next of kin; the only description currently available put him at 25 to 30 years old.
The LAPD is reportedly investigating the killing as a gang-related attack, even though the description makes it sound more like a road rage incident. If the plan was to kill a cyclist, it would seem to have been just as easy, if not easier, to shoot him without knocking him down first.
Then again, if the killers had just thought it out, they would have hit him a little harder with the car, told the police they just didn’t see him, and walked away with a slap on the wrist instead of a pending murder charge.
Not with you on this one, Ted. Gang shootings are not uncommon in LA, though fortunately they have been diminishing. Gang members target other gang members, and gang members walk, ride bikes (see them all the time, especially around the Avenues), ride motorcycles, drive cars, and take transit. If the LAPD’s suspicions are correct, the victim was targeted not because he was on a bike, but because he was a rival.
Drive-by shooters who aim at groups of rivals on the sidewalk aren’t targeting pedestrians, nor are shooters who aim at rivals in cars targeting motorists.
I could well be wrong, but the cops are pretty familiar with the hallmarks of gang rivalry shootings. It’s certainly tragic and senseless, but I very much doubt that it’s road rage in this case.
I agree with you about the police being able to spot gang attacks; they may also know the victim and any affiliations he may have.
It just seem odd. I’ve never heard of a gangland bump and shoot before. But this is one where I’ll let the police tell me what happened, rather than the other way around.
I was pretty suprised to read about this given my partner and I were riding through the Hoover/Lexington intersection with a basket full of pad thai from Wat Dong Moon Lek around 8:50 or so. It seemed like a quiet/normal a Sunday night.
A good friend who lives in LA was at the Sea Otter BLC meeting and a lot of time was spent discussing ways to improve participation in cycling, etc.
When the floor opened up he brought up CicLAvia and how almost 200,000 people showed up for an event none of these industry “leaders” had anything to do with. Not only that none of them had even heard of CicLAvia. He said jaws hit the floor pretty quick.
It’s amazing how out of touch the bike industry can be sometimes.
I knew him. He was an awesome person to know. Great attitude.
He will be missed. May God rest his soul! May God comfort his family and look after his offspring.
Sorry for the loss of your friend. And I second your prayers for his soul, and his family and children.
So sad. The apartment there at the corner of Hoover and Del Mar where the cyclist was murdered was where I lived when I first moved to the area in 2003. People are quick to condemn that densely populated region around the Silver Lake and East Hollywood border as dangerous, but I found the neighborhood to be nice and quiet.
ghost bike tie up R.I.P Manny santizo
my daddy was hurt by cowards, he use tp play with me every week. he has his wings now, someday we will fly together, please help me find the people who hurt my dad, hi my name is J i take care of his 4 year old son now, he is expecting his dad to come home soon, can you help this child, thank you