Sometimes, the news just doesn’t make any sense.
It just too tragic to contemplate, too senseless to comprehend. And this is one of those times.
According to the Los Angeles Times, two men approached a pair of boys riding their bikes on North Mission Road near North Broadway in Lincoln Heights and demanded their bikes. And even though 15-year old Miguel Machuca complied with their demands and surrendered his bike, they shot anyway, killing him and injuring an 11-year old girl.
Both were taken to L.A. County – USC Medical Center, where Machuca was pronounced dead; the girl is reportedly in stable condition.
This comes just four months after a pair of cyclists narrowly escaped death at the hands of pair of Koreatown bike thieves. In that case, the cyclists fought back; this time, Machuca did exactly what he should have done by giving up his bike.
Yet they shot him anyway. And a young life is ended for no reason.
There’s just no excuse.
And no words to describe someone who could do something like this.
Anyone with information is asked to contact LAPD’s Hollenbeck Homicide detectives at 323/342-8957.
Update: The LAPD Blog adds a little more information. Miguel Machuca was at Lincoln Park with a friend when they were approached by two suspects; one described only as a male Hispanic fired several shots with a handgun, striking Machuca; however, the report only describes a single wound to the upper torso. The 11-year old girl, who apparently not with the two boys, was hit in the back by a stray bullet.
Police ask for the public’s help in identifying a suspect.
Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call Hollenbeck Homicide Detectives Chavarria or Rios at 323-342-8957. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crimestoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.
Update 2: Carlos Morales indicates that this killing may have been gang-related, rather than a random bike theft as it originally appeared. Easier to understand, perhaps, but no less tragic.
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Mark Cavendish jumped to an early lead on day one of the Vuelta, as HTC-Columbia takes the team time trial. Day two saw Cavendish keep the red leader’s jersey, despite being outsprinted for the stage win by unknown Belorussian Yauheni Hutarovich; American sprinter Tyler Farrar took third. Frank Schleck says he can win it all this year.
In other bike racing news, Nino Schurter finishes second in the final race behind Jarolslav Kulhavy to win the 2010 UCI Cross-country Mountain Bike World Cup.
And former rising racer Saul Raisin makes a comeback of a different sort, hosting a fundraising bike ride and working towards a degree in physical therapy or speech pathology, four years after suffering a nearly fatal brain injury while riding in Europe.
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An “avid cyclist” says Dan Maes, the Colorado GOP gubernatorial candidate/conspiracy theorist, is right, and that Denver’s new bike share program is nothing more than European-inspired politically correct window dressing that hurts local businesses, and masks more serious problems — like the birth rate in developing countries.
Or maybe it’s just a way to get more people on bikes.
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Russ Roca, one half of the Long’s Beach biking expats touring the country for the past year, eloquently explains the beauty of riding without set deadlines or destinations. Photos from Friday’s Critical Mass. The L.A. Times looks at entrepreneurs catering to the urban cycling craze. Will seems to like the new Give Me 3 posters, but would like it more if drivers could see it; I saw several posters on the Westside over the weekend, most of which faced oncoming traffic. Pink rides through Venice on a red bike; doesn’t that clash? The designer of the proposed Agensys offices says a planned bike path across the Santa Monica property would “bring vehicles and cyclists in conflict;” yeah, like that never happens on the streets. Venice’s one-woman bike-riding anti-crime task force hangs it up and moves back to Boston. Missed him by that much…evidently, I shared the bike path on the beach with Zeke’s brother Dave on Thursday and didn’t know it. Evidently, bike lanes do make a difference. How to train dogs and cyclists to share a bike path; if you ask me, the dogs are easier to train. When his mom says he can’t have a BB gun, a 10-year old has a temper tantrum that ends in throwing his bike at a police car, resulting in $1300 damage; link courtesy of Tucson Velo. Albuquerque cyclists get a new $6.9 bike bridge over the Rio Grande. New Mexico authorities remove a ghost bike for a 19-year old cyclist killed in June. Oklahoma considers a new law to protect cyclists based on the Colorado Bike Safety Act; California could do a lot worse. Over 300 cyclists lead a funeral procession for a rider killed raising funds for cancer research. A Georgia cyclist’s life is going to be very different after he’s run down on a Okefenokee Swamp black road by a driver high on drugs and alcohol. Maybe those bike tubes I traded in awhile back will end up as a dog collar that doubles as a bottle opener. Bikes have replaced sports cars for middle-aged Kiwi men. Bike advocates call for bike lanes in Abu Dhabi. After a broken leg shattered his teenage dream of becoming a bike racer, leading designer Sir Paul Smith completes the circle by designing a new line of bikewear for Rapha. A Leicester cyclist rides down and tackles a bike riding burglar.
Finally, Nik Wallenda, 7th generation representative of the famous Flying Wallendas, set a new record for the highest high-wire bike ride at 260 feet above ground.
Without handlebars.
