LAPD redeploys officers to high-crime areas following surge in violence

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles' deadly August has spilled into September. Violence is on the rise in Los Angeles, highlighted by a deadly 36 hours.

A security guard was shot at least five times Thursday night after a fight broke out in the middle of a street in the 1200 block of E. 24th Street in South L.A.

The incident marked the second shooting within a few hours in the area. A suspected gang member was fatally shot near 50th and Wall streets around 2:55 p.m. Thursday while driving his SUV.

The victim lost control of his car and crashed into a house before it exploded into flames. Two L.A. police officers who tried to save the man were hospitalized.

On Wednesday, a fatal shooting erupted during a gang member's funeral.

In order to deal with the spike in violence, the L.A. Police Department is redeploying about 100 officers from their elite metropolitan unit to the hot spots, such as the Newton Division.

"We are paying extra attention to the areas in the event that they are related, we can be there to hopefully prevent it," said LAPD Capt. George Rodriguez.

That's the right move, according to Tony Moreno, a 32-year veteran of the LAPD who retired in 2007.

"The community does really need officers, and it is more officers in this situation, the safer the community," he said.

In Moreno's latest book, "Cops in America," he writes that many police departments have been hesitant to beef up their forces after anti-police movements stemming from incidents like the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri and the Ezell Ford shooting in South L.A.

"You have gangs, gang members feeling like they're taking over the community and when that happens, the silent majority, they suffer. The law-abiding citizens suffer, so you got to have a police presence out there," Moreno said.