4 Hurt During Gun Battle That Police Blame on 2 Rival Gangs

Five suspected gang members have been charged with attempted murder after a gun battle between rival gangs near Gardena High School left four people injured, Gardena police said Saturday.

The five suspects, all adults, were arrested along with five juveniles after the shoot-out last Thursday on Artesia Boulevard near Normandie Avenue, two blocks north of the high school, police said. The juveniles, whose names were not released, were taken into custody and face hearings in Juvenile Court. They were later released into the custody of their parents.

The adults, each charged with attempted murder, were being held without bail at the Gardena jail pending an arraignment Monday, police said.

Arrested at the scene was Taualloto Faagata, 21, who police said is a Paramount resident. Police said he is a member of the Oak Street Family gang based in Compton.

The remaining four adults arrested, all Gardena residents who police suspect are in the Gardena-based G-13 gang, were Jose Ojeda, 22; Gerald Lopez, 19; Albert Uguiniga Viveros, 21, and Victor Andrew Urias, 18, a student at Gardena High School, police said.

The confrontation began when two members of the Compton gang drove to Gardena High School to pick up a 17-year-old female “associate member,” police said. As the three rode north on Normandie Avenue away from the school, several members of the G-13 gang began yelling at the car and then opened fire, police said.

The Compton gang members returned fire and a bullet struck one 15-year-old in the cheek. He was treated at a hospital.

A pedestrian, Ray Lopez of Gardena, was hit in the back and in the right arm. He was listed in stable condition Saturday at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

One of the suspects, Viveros, was treated for a gunshot in the right arm.

An unidentified bystander was struck in the face by flying glass and suffered minor injuries.