61-Year-Old Great-Grandmother, 21st Homicide in Inglewood This Year

The gunman who killed a 61-year-old great-grandmother and wounded a teenage boy at an Inglewood park over the weekend remains at large today.

The shooting occurred about 4:45 p.m. Saturday at Rogers Park, 400 W. Beach Ave., said Lt. Steve Overly of the Inglewood Police Department.

Gwendolyn Taylor died at a hospital. The 15-year-old boy was treated at a hospital for an arm wound.

An afternoon news conference was planned at police headquarters to seek public help in solving the crime.

Witnesses told police a man was walking through the parking lot of the park when he began shooting at a 16-year-old boy, who ducked behind a parked vehicle.

The 15-year-old boy had been standing nearby, and he was hit by a stray bullet, as was Taylor, who was shot in the left ribcage, Overly said.

Taylor, who was picnicking at the park with her family, had six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, according to broadcast reports.

Taylor’s family said she shielded one of her children with her body.

`If it wasn’t for her, her grandchild would have been (shot) by a stray bullet,” Taylor’s nephew, Rydell Prescott, told KCAL9. “I just want justice to be served, and her killer accountable for his actions.”

The suspect was last seen running west on Beach Avenue. No description was released.

Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to call the Inglewood Police Homicide Section at (310) 412-5246, or (888) 41-CRIME.

At least 54 homicides have been reported within two miles of Saturday’s shooting since January 2007, according to coroner’s data collected for The Los Angeles Times’ interactive Homicide Report.

Taylor’s death marked at least the 21st homicide in Inglewood this year. Last year, there were 29 homicides in the city.