Thomas Rankins Jr., 21

Aug. 27, 2007, 10:53 p.m.

Thomas Rankins Jr., a 21-year-old black young man, was shot in the chest and head at 5711 S. Gramercy Place in South-Central Los Angeles at about 10 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27, and was taken to a hospital, where he died at 10:53 p.m.

Rankins wasn't a gang member. He was a laborer. He was just standing in a group, and got hit, said LAPD 77th Street Division Det. Carlos Velasquez. The suspect is a lone black man or youth who attacked on foot.

Update: Anthony Parker, 20, a young black man, has been arrested and charged with murder in this case. Parker was a gang member, shooting into a group of what he thought were rival gang members, but the only man hit, Rankins, was not. Credit for the clearance goes to LAPD 77th Street Dets. Leo Kerchenske and John Zambos.

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Six reader comments

I lived 4 or 5 houses down from where the shooting occurred. I remember hearing when I came out of my house after the shooting that Thomas's dad was away on business, and thinking this dad of a young man was going to be coming home to news of this tragedy.

Two years later, another teenager was shot, this time directly in front of our home. Thankfully, it was only in the leg, but the street was filled with neighbors that knew and respected each other. Black, Latino, white, men and women, young and old. We all got along, and welcomed seeing the LAPD on their patrols, waving to them as they or the LAFD drove by Gramercy. My sons' great-grandmother still lives in the neighborhood. God's blessing and protection on that neighborhood.

— John g. Jan. 25, 2014 at 6:28 p.m.