Family members, friends and community members mourned Wednesday morning the killing of a teen boy at a candlelit memorial created overnight at the site where he was killed the day before.
Family members identified the teen as Jeremy Galván (though County Coroner’s records list the family name as Galvin). They said he was 14. According to news reports, the teen was a student at Roosevelt High School.
Roosevelt principal Ben Gertner told CBSLA that the school would remain open Wednesday with additional police and safety measures, and that crisis counselors would be available for students and staff members
“It is with deep sadness that I am calling to inform you of the death of one of our students,” Gertner said in a message to the school community. “Our sincere condolences go out to the student’s family, friends and teachers.”
The teen was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of Second Street and Savannah, steps away from First Street Elementary, authorities said. Young children playing at the school’s playground on Wednesday could see the mourners at the site, which is across the street from the school.
About a dozen teens watched over the memorial as community members stopped by with flowers and veladoras. Among them the boy’s father, Randy Galván, who wept as he lit a candle and stood in front of the site where his son was shot.
Several media outlets recorded the moment and later interviewed the father.
Second shooting of an LA teen in 24 hours
Tuesday’s Boyle Heights shooting followed a deadly shooting Monday near an elementary school in Wilmington that left one 12-year-old dead and another child and a woman wounded.
According to the Los Angeles Times, officers patrolling about 3:30 pm heard the shots fired and found the victim near the intersection. A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said the victim, described as a teenage boy, was conscious but barely breathing when officers arrived at the scene. By the time an ambulance arrived, he had succumbed to his injuries.
A video from a live broadcast by ABC7 shows a body covered under a tarp near the entrance to the Evergreen Recreation Center, across the street from the school.
The LAPD told CBSLA that they had recovered the possible weapon involved in the shooting. One teenage boy was detained at the scene with a weapon, but authorities continued to search for a second suspect. Fox11 reported that the suspect detained is a 16-year-old.
“I don’t know if they knew each other, I don’t know if it was an argument but there was some sort of discussion before the shooting,” LAPD Capt. German Hurtado said Tuesday.
Family members on Wednesday pleaded with possible witnesses to come forward with any information that could help police with the information.
“If anybody has any information, if they could please come forward and share what they saw and what they know,” the father said.
This story was last updated on Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
