The victim, identified by friends and family as Pablo Marquez, was shot at about 11 p.m. Wednesday in the 1800 block of Henderson Avenue just north of Pacific Coast Highway, police said. Marquez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have not yet released suspect information or a possible motive for the shooting.
Friend Ivan Solares said Marquez had stepped outside to smoke a cigarette when he was shot by an unknown assailant. Marquez was the father of a 6-month-old girl named Samantha, family said. He had just turned 18 on Oct. 8.
"He was looking for work to support his daughter," Solares said. "He was a good friend and a caring person."
...
Antionette Moore, who manages the apartment complex on the block where Marquez was shot, said the neighborhood is plagued by drug addicts, but shootings are rare. The incident occurred about two blocks south of the recently opened Wrigley Community Garden.
Residents there are now shaken.
"I don't even want my daughters going outside," she said. "We're all scared."
Man, 18 years old. Tragic.
You could cut and paste, and repeat this story every month in Long Beach. As long as there is a gang culture thriving and kids glorifying the lifestyle, these stories will continue. Kids having kids does not help either. This kid was just 18 and already had a kid himslef. Break this cycle and you have the first step in the progress of heading off the gang element. I am not saying that this kid was a gangbanger(one can only speculate given the outcome), but many gangbangers come from illegitimacy and teenage mothers. This is the legacy that our system has left us. The unemployment situation will only worsen the matter.I truly cry for Long Beach as I see so much potential for the city that is unrealized. It's really like no other large city in So Calif. Any faint glimmer of hope is usually and quickly put out by these types of incidents. Long Beach will always be in my prayers and is truly in my heart. I am on the fence about moving back there as the safety of South Orange County appeals to me more and more in spite of it's lack of diversity. I guess you have to pick one or the other and diversity has it's downside.
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ReplyDeleteThis is very sad.
ReplyDeleteI just want to say, that it's a shame so many people bash conservative principles, and Long Beach has become such a "liberal" city.
You see so many senseless and uncaring things go on, that it unfortunately becomes the norm, and no one has any answers.
I'm sorry, but I DO have some answers!!
Start holding people responsible for their own lives, stop treating everyone like a victim, stop vilifying the people who work to achieve, stop attacking family values, etc...........
I'm not saying you have to become a born-again Christian, but isn't there a reason why people want to move to "lily white neighborhoods"?
Could it possibly be, that it's a lot nicer, warmer, and safer to live around white conservatives?
If so, maybe we should stop bashing them, and maybe take a page or two from their book.