2 Teen-Age Gang Members Die in Drive-By Shootings

Two teen-age gang members were killed within an hour in unrelated drive-by shootings in the North Hollywood and Sun Valley areas, police said Tuesday.

The assailants in both cases are believed to be members of rival gangs, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Officials say a connection between the two shootings is unlikely.

The two cases represent the first fatal gang shootings in the North Hollywood Division this year, said Coffey, who added that 10 nonfatal gang shootings have been reported this year.

In the first incident, Wilfred (Willy) Avila, 16, was with friends about 8 p.m. Monday in the 7100 block of Bellaire Avenue near Sherman Way when a black car, believed to be a 1980s Datsun 280Z with two males inside, pulled up to the group, Detective Mike Coffey said.

One of the car’s passengers fired several rounds from a semiautomatic handgun, hitting Avila once in the chest, police said.

Paramedics took Avila to the Medical Center of North Hollywood, where he died about 8:40 p.m.

An hour later, Pedro Arias, 18, was fatally shot in Sun Valley.

Arias was with friends in the 7900 block of DeGarmo Avenue, near Lanark Street, when a pickup truck drove past and the occupants fired several shots, wounding him in the upper body, police said.

Officers “discovered him lying in the street. He had been shot several times in the upper torso by opposing gang members,” Officer Richard Householder said.

Arias died at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley about 11:45 p.m., police said.

No arrests have been made in connection with either attack and no suspects have been identified, Coffey said.