Community Mourns Activist Killed in South LA

Residents were still reeling from the death of a community activist killed in South Los Angeles following one of the most violent months in nearly 8 years.

Leon "Bodacious" Simpson was fatally wounded in a car-to-car shooting on Thursday that ended with the victim crashing his SUV into a house and catching fire.

"He was an amazing person. As a person, it's sad he had to lose his life to something he really fought against and something he didn't believe in," said a woman who didn't want to be identified.

Friends said Simpson was known for his commitment to mitigate gang violence in his community. Simpson was also remembered for speaking out after a young man was murdered allegedly for wearing red shoes.

Police said they were planning to allocate about 100 specially-trained officers to their South Los Angeles divisions to help quell the violence. They were also building a strategy for the area, which would include gang reduction, a clergy task force and youth development.

Police said no arrests have been made yet in connection with the shooting of Simpson.

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