CULVER CITY (CNS) – The mayor of Culver City and school district officials Wednesday are calling for citywide efforts focused on preventing gun and other violence among local youths after a recent high school graduate was shot and killed and violence broke out at a vigil in his honor.
According to school board President Triston Ezidore, a vigil was held Tuesday night at Culver City High School for 2025 graduate and varsity football player Chyler Paton, a 17-year-old who was gunned down in Torrance on June 18.
Ezidore said the vigil drew 200 to 300 people. The mourners gathered on the school’s football field, where Paton played running back, but afterward a fight broke out and shots were fired, he said.
Culver City Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Atenza said officers quickly responded to a shots fired call at the high school about 7:50 p.m.
People scattered when they heard gunfire, Atenza said, and those who remained were held in a containment area until about 11:30 p.m. as officers collected evidence and interviewed witnesses.
No injuries were reported, Atenza said.
The investigation was onging and anyone with information about what happened was urged to contact police at 310-253-6120 or email Atenza at jennifer.atenza@culvercity.org.
In response to the killing of Paton and Tuesday night’s violence, a news conference was called Wednesday morning to discuss both incidents and the beginnings of “a coordinated, city-wide effort focused on youth violence prevention and gun violence prevention.”
Culver City Mayor Dan O’Brien, Vide Mayor Freddy Puza, Culver City Unified School Board Superintendent Brian Lucas, Ezidore and other board members were expected to attend, with Police Chief Jason Sims invited as well.
Paton was killed at a home where an end-of-school pool party was taking place, family members told CBS2.
Officers responded to a shots fired call at 8:58 p.m. June 18 in the 23000 block of Huber Avenue, according to the Torrance Police Department. Officers found spent casings and the victim — later identified by the Los Angeles County Office of Medical Examiner as Paton — who was suffering from gunshot wounds, police said.
Torrance Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead, police said.
No arrests have been announced in the ongoing investigation into Paton’s killing. Witnesses with information about the shooting were urged to contact Torrance police at 310-328-3456.
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