Boy aged FIVE dressed up as Spiderman for Halloween killed in gangland shooting

Aaron Shannon, 5, was shot in the head by suspected gang members in his back yard in Los Angeles as he ran around in his Spiderman costume
A five-year-old boy getting ready for Halloween died after being shot in the head in the yard of his Los Angeles home.
Aaron Shannon Jr. ran into his back yard to show his Spiderman costume to his uncle, grandfather and cousin when suspected gang members opened fire on the family in the alley behind the house.
Aaron was struck in the back of his head, while his uncle was hit in the leg and his grandfather on the wrist.


Doctors at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center tried to save the boy but he died hours later.
William Shannon, Aaron's grandfather, said the shooting came without warning.
He described how Aaron was excited about Halloween, saying the little boy was showing off the costume's muscles as though they were his and running around showing his speed and agility and posing for photos.
The boy was due to go to a Halloween party in a nearby suburb, and looking forward to going trick-or-treating.
Shannon said he saw two black males in their 20s walking in the alley behind the home in the Florence neighborhood. He said he nodded to acknowledge them.
Shannon said he then heard a popping sound like small explosions or fireworks.
'I saw one of the men move to position himself to get a clear shot and he pointed a weapon and pulled the trigger,' Mr Shannon said.
'I turned around and I got shot in the left wrist and he continued to fire as we were running.'

When the gunfire stopped, they found Aaron 'in a pool of blood in his Spiderman costume.
'They shot him in the back of the head,' Shannon told the LA Times.
Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Pat Gannon condemed the crime as 'horrific'.
'This little boy was getting ready to go trick-or-treating. It is one of the most exciting days of the year for young children, and then they opened fire on this innocent family.
'There is no reason for this shooting,' Gannon said. 'It makes no sense. This family has no gang ties. The shooters … are nothing but cowards.'
Gannon said that although the family has no gang connections, the block of East 84th Street where the shooting occurred is in an active gang area. Police said the shooting could be linked to the rivalry between the Kitchen Crips and Swan Blood gangs.
Early investigations suggest the gunmen had mistaken the location for a different one they had intended to fire on.
But the gunmen, Gannon said, would have seen their victims. He believes the community will identify the shooters.
'Even among gangsters, this is unacceptable,' Gannon said. 'This is an awful thing for a family to deal with.'
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Councilwoman Jan Perry, in whose district the shooting occurred, appealed for the public's help in finding the killers
'This is a crime against this family and a crime against this entire community,' said Perry.
William Shannon appealed to the public for help in catching the youths.
'These guys need to be taken off the streets,' he said.