Girl Shot, Killed in South Gate After Party

A 16-year-old girl shot Tuesday after a confrontation in the South Gate area was in the "wrong place at the wrong time," according to family friends.

Shots were fired at a car in which the victim was a passenger, according to authorities. The girl died at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood around 4:30 a.m., a family friend told NBC4 early Wednesday.

The coroner's office confirmed the shooting victim's death later Wednesday morning.

Coroner's officials said they had not notified next of kin as of Wednesday night, and would not confirm the victim's name.

The teen was a passenger in the vehicle when she was struck by a bullet near Dakota Street and Gardendale Street around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, according the sheriff's department. Two males in the vehicle were not injured, according to authorities.

"Some other guys started an argument with them, some kind of fight," family friend Mike Perez said. "They tried to leave, and as soon as they started taking off they started shooting."

Authorities have not confirmed friends' accounts of events that led to the shooting.

"She's a great girl," Perez said. "She grew up with my daughter. She's a sweet girl. Everybody loved her. Everybody liked her. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

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