Manuel Lopez, 18

Died April 15, 2007 at 7:21 p.m.

Manuel Ramirez Lopez, 18, a Latino young man, was shot in the torso on the southwest corner of Vanowen Street at Kester Avenue in Van Nuys, and died at 7:21 p.m. Sunday, April 15. Ramirez Lopez was walking through the parking lot of a state Department of Motor Vehicles facility when three Latino young men in a green Honda pulled up and asked him where he was from. He denied gang membership, and the suspects got out of the Honda and jumped on him. One of them pulled a gun and fired at least once, wounding Lopez. He was taken to Holy Cross hospital, where he died.

Police officers spotted the fleeing car, and a 45-minute chase ensued. One suspect, a 16-year-old boy, jumped out of the car during the pursuit and was caught by police officers on foot. He had thrown a handgun and a shirt into a trash can as he ran, but police recovered both. His cohorts, Christian Soto, 19, and Jose Hernandez, 19, drove on, and eventually crashed into other cars at Terra Bella Street and Arleta Avenue in Pacoima as television cameras rolled. All three have been arrested.