Subscribe
NewsOne Featured Video
CLOSE

Two reputed gang members were arrested in the Halloween killing of a 5-year-old boy, Aaron Shannon Jr, who was shot in the head as he showed off his Spider-Man costume in his backyard, police said Friday.

Marcus Denson, 18, was arrested Thursday at a home near the killing site after a brief chase, Los Angeles police Capt. Dennis Kato said.

Leonard Hall Jr., 21, was arrested at about 2 a.m. Friday at an apartment building several miles north of the site, Kato said.

The men, both reputed members of a local street gang, were booked on suspicion of murder and remained jailed Friday, he said. Their bail was set at $1 million each, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“We knew, as a law enforcement agency, that eventually we were going to get these guys,” Kato said. “The only thing that saddens me is we failed to protect him (Aaron Shannon Jr).”

‘Absolutely horrific’

Aaron Shannon Jr. was flexing the muscles of his Spider-Man costume and posing for photographs in the backyard with his uncle, grandfather and cousin Sunday afternoon when two men in an alley opened fire on the group, police and relatives have said.

VIDEO:

“This is absolutely horrific. This is 2 p.m. on Halloween,” Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Pat Gannon told the Los Angeles Times. “This little boy was getting ready to go trick-or-treating.

“There is no reason for this shooting,” he said. “This family has no gang ties. The shooters … they are nothing but cowards.”

Aaron was shot in the back of the head. He died at a hospital the next day.

The boy’s uncle, Terrence Shannon, 27, was hit in the wrist, and his grandfather William Shannon, 56, was hit in the left leg. Their injuries were not considered serious.

Read entire article at MSNBC.com

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE: http://widgets.fbshare.me/files/fbshare.js