Woman Dies After Being Hit by Stray Bullet; Shooter, Intended Victim Sought

A 20-year-old woman died early Thursday after being hit by a stray bullet while she and her fiance waited in line at a fast-food takeout window near her home in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

Kristine Estrella Tiongson was struck in the head Wednesday night by a bullet fired at least three blocks away as she stood outside a Church’s Chicken restaurant at Florence and Vermont avenues, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.

Tiongson died about 2:30 a.m. Thursday after being taken off life support at the California Hospital Medical Center, said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Kevin Maiberger.

Witnesses at the restaurant told police they heard several gunshots about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Tiongson’s fiance, Arturo Castrejon, 25, who was paying for the couple’s food, said he turned around and saw Tiongson collapse, authorities said.

Police believe the bullet may have been fired from the vicinity of 69th Street and Vermont Avenue, based on calls from residents and businesses also reporting gunshots at the time, Maiberger said. Although police found several shell casings in the area, no weapons or suspects have been found.

“It’s just one of those unfortunate freak things where you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Capt. Kenneth Garner of the LAPD’s 77th Street Division said at a news conference Thursday. The division is handling the investigation.

Police are looking for a young Latina, believed to be in her teens, who may have been the intended victim, Garner said.

At the time of the shooting, the girl was seen near 69th Street and Vermont Avenue hiding behind a post, authorities said.

The witness, who was driving north on Vermont Avenue, told police she approached the girl after it appeared someone was shooting at her and gave her a ride to the 900 block of 69th Street, Garner said.

Detectives and Tiongson’s fiance asked for the public’s help Thursday in finding the girl and anyone else connected to what Garner described as a “cowardly” shooting.

A visibly shaken and barely audible Castrejon pleaded for someone to come forward. “People don’t have the right to take other people’s lives,” he said.

City Councilman Bernard Parks, who represents the district where the shooting occurred, said he would ask the City Council today to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Parks said the incident reminded him of the loss of his 20-year-old granddaughter, Lori Gonzalez, who was fatally shot five years ago as she and a friend left a Popeye’s chicken restaurant on La Brea Avenue.

“It is a tragedy when a 20-year-old loses their life senselessly for just being in the community,” he said.