Malibu High School student shot

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No suspects have been identified.

By Jonathan Friedman/Assistant Editor

Malibu High School senior Katelyn Hall was shot Oct. 30 while seated in a car outside of an industrial building in Downtown Los Angeles, leaving the right side of her face paralyzed. Los Angeles Police Department Detective Jerry Code said Hall was shot by one of two Hispanic males standing outside the building. Code said he did not believe the gunfire was intended to hit her.

Hall was attending a concert at an industrial building located near Washington and Santa Fe streets in Downtown Los Angeles. Code said the facility did not look like a legitimate club to him, but he did not know for sure. He said if that were to be discovered through the process of his investigation, he would alert the proper authorities.

Code said a fight broke outside between somebody from the club and a patron at a nearby bar. The fight escalated, and two male Hispanics took out handguns. Code said when the men allegedly fired their guns, they were most likely aiming for a van, which was driving away. One of the bullets struck Hall in the face while she was sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle. Another bullet struck a woman in the van. Code said none of the witnesses he spoke with knew the two men who allegedly fired the guns, and the two men have not been identified through other means.

Hall’s father, Jimmy Hall, said the bullet that hit his daughter missed killing her by just a fraction of an inch, as it missed her jawbone and brain. Jimmy Hall said the muscles in her lips and eyes are paralyzed on the right side. She underwent surgery to repair the nerves so that movement could return. Jimmy Hall said the surgery went smoothly, but it would be another six months to determine if the movement will return.