Thomas Rankins Jr., 21

Thomas Rankins Jr., a 21-year-old black young man, was shot in the chest and head at 5711 S. Gramercy Place in South-Central Los Angeles at about 10 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27, and was taken to a hospital, where he died at 10:53 p.m.

Rankins wasn't a gang member. He was a laborer. He was just standing in a group, and got hit, said LAPD 77th Street Division Det. Carlos Velasquez. The suspect is a lone black man or youth who attacked on foot.

Update: Anthony Parker, 20, a young black man, has been arrested and charged with murder in this case. Parker was a gang member, shooting into a group of what he thought were rival gang members, but the only man hit, Rankins, was not. Credit for the clearance goes to LAPD 77th Street Dets. Leo Kerchenske and John Zambos.

Comments

[janette edwards]

thomas was my step-brother. i never met him. i wanted to though. i never had a little brother.

[Marzell]

My daughter and I got a phone call late one night. It was bad news. Thomas had been killed in L.A. We were shocked and saddened. He was T.A.C.'s only son(biological). He helped raise Jan in California in her early years! California was different! It could be dangerous, we knew. You just hope for the best. It just didn't work out that way. We'll miss Thomas!

[janette edwards]

We were shocked and saddened when we got the phone call! We weren't aware of the dangers of living in L.A. His father did the best he could! Noone knows the future, except God. I guess it's a real war of some kind. T.A.C. helped raise me in California in the late 70's. Things were different back then; a lot safer.