Times coverage: Public's help needed to find killer of Compton teen

Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding the person responsible for fatally shooting a high school senior in Compton in 2009.

Last week, officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department made a plea to the community to provide information on the shooter who killed Michael Owens, a 19-year-old black man, on Jan. 26.

Owens, the son of an Army National Guard member, was struck by gunfire at West 132nd Street and Riddle Avenue as he walked home from school, authorities said.

A shootout erupted between two men, whom investigators learned were gang members, said Nicole Nishida, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

"Owens was not a gang member," Nishida said. "His death was the result of retaliation. He basically got caught in the crossfire."

Authorities said the slaying was made even more tragic because Owens' father, a National Guardsman, had completed four tours of duty in Iraq and was hoping to leave the violence behind him and regain lost time with his family.

The city of Compton has one of the highest rates of violent crimes in Los Angeles County, according to data analyzed in The Times new interactive database, Crime L.A., and ranks 21st highest for violent crime per 10,000 residents among the 211 areas patrolled by the LAPD or Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 

Since January 2007, at least 132 people have been the victims of homicide in Compton.

Reporter Ann M. Simmons has more in L.A. Now: Officials seek suspects in Compton slaying of high school senior