New details emerge in fatal South L.A. shooting
Police said today that a 19-year-old man shot in South Los Angeles over the weekend was killed outside a nightclub and not while driving his car, as they originally reported.
Damien Cordell White, 19, of Lennox got into a fight with someone outside of the club in the 5500 block of South Western Avenue about 1:05 a.m. Sunday and “during the struggle the suspect produced a handgun and shot White multiple times,” Los Angeles Police Department officials said in a statement.
Police earlier had said White was driving when he was shot, but today they said he got into his car after the shooting and drove to a gas station at the intersection of Slauson and Western avenues, where he collapsed. He was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m.
White used to play for the Culver City High School football team and was one of the top wide receivers in the school’s history. In the first round of the Southern Section Western Division playoffs in 2006, it was White’s 52-yard reception in the second quarter that sparked the Centaurs into action and to a 33-15 victory over La Canada St. Francis.
He graduated in June 2007 with a total of 1,868 receiving yards, and after bringing his grades and test scores up was offered a scholarship at the University of Minnesota, said one of his former football coaches, Greg Goodyear.
“He’s really fast and he can catch the ball, he’s got great moves,” Goodyear said.
White left Minnesota after again struggling with grades and enrolled in El Camino College last fall, where he planned to play football.
Although police have said White was a gang member, Goodyear disputed that, saying White may have hung out with people affiliated with gangs, but he was not an active member.
“He was just a good kid that was probably in the wrong spot,” Goodyear said.
-- Ari B. Bloomekatz
I have a Theory that somebody did something wrong?...ha..ha..LoL.
Posted by: Ken Macone (Sparks,Nv-Police-SET-Team) | April 06, 2009 at 04:05 PM
Look, that's not very nice (to Ken Macone). I played football with Damien in high school. While he didn't always make the best decisions, he was a decent guy. It's sad to see his life end like this.
Posted by: Michael W | April 07, 2009 at 01:18 AM
i dont see anything funny about this Damien was like a big brother to me.
Posted by: Loren Simon | April 07, 2009 at 02:46 AM
I knew Damien while he was a Freshmen/ Sophomore. I wished greater things for him. He was super talented. Let this be a lesson to all student athletes who straddle the fence between football glory and hood glory. D. White was I believe just caught in the wrong mix. it hurts to see him go like this.
Posted by: Chris Jackson | April 07, 2009 at 02:07 PM
First and foremost, Damien WAS NOT in a gang. Perhaps it is time for the LAPD to stop assuming that every poor BLACK male is in a gang.
Second, Damien did not leave Minnesota due to grades.
Third, this posting is exactly what is wrong with our society today. A young black man gets killed and its buried at the bottom. But a white girl gets slapped by her boyfriend and its front page news.
Someone needs to inform the LAPD that just because Damien was black and poor doesn't mean he was in a gang. And the LAPD needs to treat this case like a REAL case. Because even though they think this is a NHI case, they could not be further from the truth.
Posted by: Gopher Buddy | April 07, 2009 at 11:27 PM
THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW MUCH OF A TRAGEDY THIS GREAT LOST OF MY BROTHER IS ALL I CAN SAY IS GOD HAS A REASON FOR EVERYTHING HE DOES!!!
Posted by: MAHOGANY WHITE | April 08, 2009 at 10:58 PM
I'm a former teammate and good friend of Damien, he was not a a gang let that be known. He was a good kid, full of life, a lot of us here in Minnesota are missing him and are having a hard time with his killing. He did not deserve this at all, the person who did this obviously could not hold his own in a fight with Damien reason being why he shot him. To the person who did this IF YOU THINK HAVING A GUN MAKES YOU A MAN YOUR WRONG! Damien did not leave Minnesota because of grades, his grades were fine there were other reasons why he left. He even questioned if he was making the right decision in transferring, he had many conversations with us teammates about his decision me and him had one his last night here in Minnesota. We're hurting up here and missing you dame!
Posted by: brow2231 | April 13, 2009 at 02:24 PM
IM STILL IN A STATE OF SHOCK ON WHAT HAPPENED AND ITS A SHAME HOW PEOPLE CANT JUST FIGHT WITHOUT PULLING OUT A GUN ON SOMEONE. AND YEAH D.WHITE MAY HAVE MADE SOME BAD DECISIONS IN LIFE, BUT HE STILL WAS A GOOD PERSON. ME AND HIM MAY HAVE HAD OUR UPS AND DOWNS BUT AT THE END WE WERE ALWAYS FRIENDS. AND HE WAS NOT A GANG MEMBER. THEY JUST WANT TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE HE WAS TO JUSTIFY WHAT HAPPENED. POLICE ALWAYS ASSUME THAT A PERSON IS A GANG MEMBER BECAUSE OF WHAT TATS THEY HAVE OR HOW THEY LOOK AND THAT IS NOT THE CASE. I WILL ALWAYS AND FOREVER MISS YOU DAME LIKE FOR REAL. SCHOOL WON'T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU BUT I PROMISE I'LL BECOME A DOCTOR LIKE I TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO BE OK. LOVE YOU D. WHITE #1
Posted by: monique white | April 17, 2009 at 05:40 AM