Brown On Black Crime A Major Problem In "All American" City
CANOGA PARK - Since July 2006 there have been 12 shootings targeting Canoga Park Blacks.
Following two recent attacks, police have stepped up warnings to African-Americans to be wary of Canoga Park Alabama.
Some Blacks in the community, as well as educators working with African-American students, said they have felt the wrath of the gang's racist campaign of violence firsthand. But other Blacks paint a more idyllic picture of Canoga Park, one that helped it become the first Los Angeles community to win the All-America honor in the award's 58-year history.
Once a predominately White community, today Canoga Park is about 50 percent Latino, 28 percent white, 15 percent Asian and 4 percent Black, according to a 2005 American Community Survey listed in a California State University, Northridge, report.
Although police can't pinpoint why "CPA" has focused on Blacks, one possibility is street culture emulating prison life, where Black and Latino inmates have repeatedly clashed as they align themselves along racial lines.
"It could be a young guy trying to make his stripes (or) an order from somewhere else or random gang stuff," Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Tom Smart said. "Hopefully, it's a little flare-up and not a continuing trend, especially as the summer heats up."
With the last two attacks on Blacks in and around Lanark Park separated by mere days and feet, police want African-Americans to be on alert for any trouble.
"I feel we have an obligation to let (Black people) know that they could be targeted," Smart said. "I'd like to remind them to be mindful. It's random."
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