Shooting Victim was Honors Student, Athlete

By Jorge Casuso

March 2 -- Fifteen year old Eduardo Lopez was standing with two friends outside a Pico Boulevard mini mart Tuesday night when a man in a hooded sweatshirt, a bandana covering his face, approached.

A Samohi honors student and junior varsity baseball star, Lopez and his friends had just purchased snacks from the store on the 2600 block of Pico Boulevard on the border of Sunset Park, police said.

The suspect -- described as a male Hispanic -- yelled and fired.

"He yelled a Los Angeles-based Hispanic gang name several times and fired several times at the three subjects, striking the victim," said Lt. Frank Fabrega, the Police Department spokesman.

"The victim," Fabrega added, "did not have any documented gang affiliation."

Lopez was transported to a local hospital, where he died of a gunshot wound to the torso, police said.

A witness reported seeing a white pickup truck fleeing from the scene of the shooting.

Police "don't know if it was a coincidence" that a truck sped off after the shooting, Fabrega said.

School Board member Oscar de la Torre called it "a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"When you're a young man of color in the Pico Neighborhood, you're in the wrong place all the time," said de la Torre, who is executive director of the Pico Youth and Family Center.

"The young man who was murdered was not a gang member, was not gang involved and was not committing a crime when he was killed," de la Torre said.

"Working class families have known the fear of terrorism even before 9/11," he said. "Mothers continue to live with the anxiety of raising children in their neighborhood."

A Santa Monica native who lived his life in the city's poorest area, Lopez was attending Samohi after graduating from Edison Elementary and John Adams Middle School.

He was considered an excellent student and standout right fielder.

"He was not the kind that would raise a red flag," de la Torre said. "It's just one of those tragedies."

A memorial service will be held at the Greek Theater at the Samohi campus after school on Wednesday.

Anyone having additional information should contact the Robbery-Homicide Unit of the Santa Monica Police Department at 310-458-8451 or the Watch Commander's Office at 310-458-8426.

Callers who wish to remain anonymous may also call the We-Tip national hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463).