Simone WilsonThe 18-year-old victim of a South L.A. drive-by yesterday afternoon has been identified as Edwin Ray Johns Jr., a recent graduate of Jefferson High School. He reportedly died after being shot multiple times in the upper torso.
An 11-year-old girl and 57-year-old man were hit by the same rain of bullets — fired in broad daylight near 52nd Place and McKinley Avenue — but are currently in stable condition at local hospitals.
Though LAPD Officer Sara Faden tells the Daily Breeze that “the shooting could have been gang-related,” Johns' friends and family…
… insist the former high-school football star was not a gang member. “He and my son … all they live for is football,” his aunt, Glenda Trapp, said to KCAL9. (A young man named Brandon Trapp, who appears to be friends with Johns on Facebook, writes “R.I.P Edwin ray john jr.”)
Credit: Smiley J Bang via Facebook
And his friend Harvey Irvin told reporters: “He was a good kid. He wasn't involved in no gangs. He went to church. He went to school every day.”
According to MaxPreps, a website for college sports recruiters, Johns was No. 34 on his high school's varsity football team. He was a defensive and offensive lineman.
On the Facebook profile we believe to belong to the 18-year-old victim, a post just after midnight on New Year's reads: “Gun fire left n right over here.”
Officer Faden tells the Breeze that the triple-shooting suspect is still on the loose after fleeing the crime scene in a gray vehicle.
Did you know Johns, or the other two victims? Please share below.
[@simone_electra / swilson@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.