Editing 1992 Los Angeles riots (section)

====Attack on Fidel Lopez====
Around 7:40{{nbsp}}p.m., almost an hour after Denny was rescued, another beating was filmed on videotape in that location. Fidel Lopez, a self-employed construction worker and [[Guatemala]]n, was pulled from his GMC pickup truck and robbed of $2,000 ({{Inflation|US|2024|1992|fmt=eq|r=-2}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lopez |first1=Steve |title=The forgotten victim from Florence and Normandie |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2012-may-06-la-me-0506-lopez-riot-20120506-story.html |access-date=2 March 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=6 May 2012}}</ref> Rioters, including [[Damian "Football" Williams|Damian Williams]], smashed his forehead open with a car stereo<ref name="nytimes_williams">{{cite news |title=Man Pleads Guilty to Trying To Rob Trucker During Riot |work=The New York Times |date=March 17, 1993 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/17/us/man-pleads-guilty-to-trying-to-rob-trucker-during-riot.html |access-date=March 4, 2011}}</ref> and one tried to slice his ear off.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/05/09/victim-of-mob-assault-meets-man-who-saved-his-life/|title=Victim of mob assault meets man who saved his life|website=tribunedigital-baltimoresun|date=May 9, 1992|access-date=May 12, 2016|archive-date=June 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617143213/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-05-09/news/1992130030_1_lopez-newton-love-church|url-status=live}}</ref> After Lopez lost consciousness, the crowd spray-painted his chest, torso, and genitals black.<ref>{{cite book |last=Alexander |first=Von Hoffman |title=House by House, Block by Block: The Rebirth of America's Urban Neighborhoods |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6tAQFzdJ6x0C&q=fidel+lopez+riot&pg=PA227 |isbn=0-19-514437-6 |page=227 |access-date=March 4, 2011 }}</ref> He was eventually rescued by black Reverend Bennie Newton, who told the rioters: "Kill him, and you have to kill me too."<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite web|date=2 May 1993|title=Mourners Say Farewell to One of Riots' Heroes : Funeral: The Rev. Bennie Newton, an ex-convict, had built a reputation for saving lives long before he threw himself over a man being beaten by a mob.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-02-me-30352-story.html|access-date=2020-07-07|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> Lopez survived the attack, but it took him years to fully recover and re-establish his business. Newton and Lopez became close friends.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2012-may-06-la-me-0506-lopez-riot-20120506-story.html "The forgotten victim from Florence and Normandie"]. ''Los Angeles Times'', May 6, 2012.</ref> In 1993, Reverend Benny Newton died of leukemia.

Sunset on the first evening of the riots was at 7:36{{nbsp}}p.m.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KLAX/1992/4/29/DailyHistory.html|title=Weather History for Los Angeles, CA |website=www.wunderground.com|access-date=September 29, 2016}}</ref> The first call reporting a fire came in soon after, at approximately 7:45{{nbsp}}p.m.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/1992-0429_LA-Riots/LATimes-2002-0429-0501/2002-0429_latimes_ChartingTheHoursofChaos.htm|title=Charting the Hours of Chaos|date=April 29, 2002|website=Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive|publisher=Los Angeles Times (orig. archive pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/doc/421691608.html )|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> Police did not return in force to Florence and Normandie until 8:30&nbsp;p.m.<ref name=":1" />

Numerous factors were later blamed for the severity of rioting in the 77th Street Division on the evening of April 29. These included:<ref name=":8" />
* No effort made to close the busy intersection of Florence and Normandie to traffic.
* Failure to secure gun stores in the Division (one in particular lost 1,150 guns to looting on April 29).
* The failure to issue a citywide Tactical Alert until 6:43{{nbsp}}p.m., which delayed the arrival of other divisions to assist the 77th.
* The lack of any response — and in particular, a riot response — to the intersection, which emboldened rioters. Since attacks, looting, and arson were broadcast live, viewers could see that none of these actions were being stopped by police.