Teenage cyclist fatally shot in Harbor Gateway; does it still count when it’s just one kid instead of 20?

Merry Christmas, indeed.

According to the Daily Breeze, a 16-year old boy was shot and killed while riding his bike in the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Torrance resident Richard Aldana was riding in the 1500 block of West 208th Street around 8:20 pm Sunday when a blue vehicle pulled up near him and someone fired several shots from inside. Aldana was transported to a local hospital, where he died.

Despite the drive-by, police do not think the shooting was gang related.

When 20 children are gunned down, along with six adults, the entire nation is horrified and demands action. Yet when one boy on a bike loses his life on the wrong end of a gun, no one even notices. Instead of world-wide press coverage, it merits just four paragraphs in the local paper.

It’s just too common an occurrence.

Just one of the seven bike riders killed by gunfire in Southern California so far this year, compared to nine last year, and the second in Los Angeles County.

And just one of the 30,000 +/- people who will die by gunfire throughout the country before this year is over.

Twenty-six deaths is a tragedy. One isn’t even news.

Anyone with information is urged to call homicide detectives Sid Rodriguez at 310/726-7887 or Patty Batts at 310/726-7889.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Richard Aldana and all his loved ones.

Update: Not knowing the area, I originally placed the shooting in Torrance, rather than Los Angeles. I’ve corrected it above to show the actual location. Thanks to Biker395 for the correction.

12 comments

  1. Biker395 says:

    Point of clarification. The victim was apparently a resident of Torrance, but the shooting itself happened east of Torrance in the Harbor Gateway section of Los Angeles. That narrow strip of land is a high-crime area noted for street gangs.

  2. John P says:

    Don’t forget it helps when the families involved are rich…the shooter’s dad made in excess of $400k/year, and the rest of that area wasn’t exactly poor…you don’t get near the same coverage of school shootings in inner city schools either.

    Either way, every one of these shootings of innocent children should be a big deal, it happens quite often. My condolenscenses to the family of the teen killed.

    • Biker395 says:

      Eh? Is there a backstory I’ve not heard? The area where the shooting occurred may not be dirt poor, but it is blue collar at best. I used to work very close to there.

    • Statsdude says:

      You don’t get much coverage period when it comes to inner city.

      About 8 years ago, I served on a jury where a bicyclist was killed (gang related). The conviction met the death penalty requirements under State law

      After the trial was over, I checked the only major newspaper in Los Angeles. No reference to the killing or conviction. It was like their lives had never happened. Sad on many levels.

  3. Allan says:

    RIP young buck. It’s always sad to see someone that has hardly started in life go down. I hope your family manages to caring on the best they can.

  4. Richard,
    You will be missed terribly. All of my prayers go out to Jasmine and her family.

  5. JD says:

    Our prayers go up for the family and friends of the victim.

  6. […] Teenage Cyclist Shot in Torrance (Biking In L.A.) […]

  7. ana jaime says:

    Who ever killed my NEPHEW didnt just cut his life short ,he else left alot of pain and sorrow . i hope the killer has the worst punishment . His day will come …………………………………….

  8. Kayaker says:

    It is Torrance not Los Angeles. It is the Harbor Gateway strip of Torrance. Named as the Harbor Gateway because it is bordered by Western Ave and Normandie Ave which are the two main streets that go from downtown LA to San Pedro where the LA harbor is located.

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