Man arrested over toddler's killing

A 17-year-old suspected gang member accused of shooting a three-year-old girl in her Los Angeles driveway was caught after authorities received a tip on his whereabouts.

Jonathan Banks was taken into custody yesterday – hours after the little girl was buried.

Kaitlyn Avila was shot on September 24 when two men pulled up in front of her family’s apartment complex as she was getting out of a car with her father and 6-year-old sister. She died on October 1.

The gunman wounded her father, Cesar Avila, mistakenly believing he was a member of a rival gang, then shot Kaitlyn once in the chest at point blank range in what police called “a callous killing.”

At a news conference announcing the arrest, her parents thanked authorities.

Mr Avila said, as he held his wife’s hand: “At least we know they’re not out there harming other people.

Both wore white T-shirts with a picture of their daughter and the words, “My Princess Will Always Be in My Heart.”

“We feel a lot better,” her father said.

“Thank God they are going to pay for what they did,” added her mother, Luz Hernandez.

Los Angeles Deputy Chief Charles Beck said: “This is a murder that affects us all.

“The senseless intentional murder of a three-year-old is horrendous.”

A joint task force of the LAPD and FBI had arrested the alleged driver last week.

Beck said the shooting underscored continued gang problems in the Southwest Los Angeles neighbourhood, which is occupied by two warring gangs: the Black P-Stones, a mostly black gang, and 18th Street, a mostly Latino gang.

Although the victims were Hispanic and the suspects black, police officials said they believe the shooting was gang-related, not racial.