Suspect caught after bloody shooting

A gunman who shot five children and three adults was arrested Wednesday  afternoon after an extensive search by police.
Billy Ray Hines,  a  24-year-old gang member from Gardena, was charged Monday with 15  felonies, including attempted murder and assault with a firearm after he  opened fire on crowd with a 9 millimeter semiautomatic handgun.
The  incident occurred at the corner of Vernon and Central Avenues, where  children and adults were waiting for a bus when shots rang out.  Residents said that the area is rife with gang activity.
Hines was  allegedly aiming at two intended victims when he opened fire, but he  missed his targets, according to police.
Four children ranging in  age from 10 to 14 were grazed by bullets, as were a 49-year-old woman  and two men, ages 48 and 68.  Six victims remained hospitalized late  Wednesday, including three children.  The children wounded in the attack  all attend George Washington Carver Middle School.
A 12-year old  girl, the most seriously wounded, was shot through the chest and was in  stable condition at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles late Wednesday.
According  to LAPD spokesman Lt. Ruben de la Torre, Hines is a member of the 48th  Street Crips gang.
Hines allegedly saw two members of a rival gang  near the Jack in the Box fast food restaurant at Vernon and Central  Avenues and opened fire. The gang members escaped, but the bullets  sprayed the crowd at the bus stop, wounding the victims.
We caught  Hines with good old fashioned detective work, said De la Torre. Our  gang enforcement detail unit interviewed victims and witnesses, and we  examined surveillance tapes that we obtained from nearby merchants.  Our  detail unit knew the area very well and they were able to pin the crime  to this individual based on information people provided.
De la  Torre said that police saw the suspect walking down the street near  where the incident occurred and started a surveillance of Hines.  After  obtaining a warrant, the police were able to arrest the suspect.
Councilmember  Jan Perry, who introduced a motion last week calling for more federal  funds for public safety in South Los Angeles, held a community meeting  Wednesday to discuss public safety concerns arising from the shooting.   On Tuesday, Perry held a press conference near the site where the  incident occurred. Before the suspect was caught, Perry announced an  reward of $75,000 for the suspects capture.
I cant tell you how  angry I am.  The person who did this had a reckless, wanton total  disregard for life. Children should not have to live like this, said  Perry.
Members of Unity II, a gang intervention and prevention group,  patrolled Vernon Avenue Wednesday where the shooting occurred.  The  group is in charge of the Safe Passage program that escorts children to  and from school to ward them from crime, fights, and gang activity.
The  group said that there are several gangs in the area, and they try to  recruit children after school.  These kids are scared to death. They  have post traumatic stress disorder, said Malik Spellman, Unity II  member.  Most of these children have had relatives killed by gang  violence and theyre scared that they will be next.
Perry said that  for the past year, she had requested that the Newton police division  increase its police presence in the gang plagued neighborhood, but had  yet to get her request granted.
Hines, who police said was on  probation for a December burglary conviction, was arrested Thursday  afternoon less than a half-mile from the shooting scene.  If convicted  of all counts, Hines faces eight life prison sentences with a minimum  parole eligibility date of 154 years, according to the District  Attorneys Office.
Hines faces eight counts of assault with an  automatic firearm, two counts each of attempted murder and shooting at  an occupied motor vehicle, and one count each of shooting at an  inhabited dwelling, discharging a firearm in a school zone and  possessing a firearm while on probation, along with gang and gun  allegations.
Referring to Hines, Perry observed, This person  deserves to be punished