1,000 march in Oxnard in tribute to slain teen

The Goths in their black T-shirts were there. So were the punks with fluorescent hair and multiple piercings.

There were even a few adolescent boys carrying skateboards among the nearly 1,000 Oxnard youths and other supporters who turned out today for a hastily-organized peace march meant to pay tribute to Lawrence King, 15, the Oxnard student who prosecutors say was slain by a classmate this week.

“Larry, Larry, Larry!” the crowd chanted before marchers clasped hands and held a moment of silence for the fallen student.

There were no bullhorns, no speeches and no politicians. Just a mass of mostly adolescents wearing bright clothing, carrying signs and singing songs spontaneously. The size of the turnout surprised police, school officials and even the two Hueneme High School sophomores who put it together just three days ago, spreading the word with fliers, cellphone calls and MySpace bulletins.

“We were expecting maybe 100 or 200 people,” said Courtney LaForest, 16, as she gazed at a broad “peace circle” formed by the march participants at Plaza Park in downtown Oxnard. “This is incredible.”

LaForest said the large turnout reflected a community’s anguish over a senseless shooting that has destroyed the lives of two young men. It was also a public plea for tolerance on school campuses for those who are different, she said.

“I didn’t know Larry. A lot of people here didn’t know him,” LaForest said. “We are saying you don’t need to accept people who are gay, but you should tolerate them.”

King, an eighth-grader at E.O. Green Junior High School in south Oxnard, had revealed he was gay this school year. In recent weeks, he had begun accessorizing his school uniform with feminine items and was often teased by other students, several of his classmates said.

“What he did was really brave – to wear makeup and high-heeled boots,” said Erin Mings, 12, who hung out with King at E.O. Green. “Every corner he turned around, people were saying, ‘Oh, my God, he’s wearing makeup today.’ ’

Mings said King stood his ground, and was an outgoing and funny boy.

“When people came up and started punking him, he just stood up for himself,” Mings said.

Authorities allege that Brandon McInerney, 14, shot King in the head in a classroom full of students early Tuesday. Police said McInerney then fled the scene but was apprehended a few blocks away.

King was declared brain dead the next day and was taken off a respirator Friday after some organs were removed for donation, authorities said.

Prosecutors have refused to discuss a possible motive for the shooting. But several students said King and a group of boys, including McInerney, had a verbal confrontation concerning King’s sexual orientation a day before the killing.

McInerney was charged this week with first-degree murder with the special allegation of a hate crime. He was being held in Juvenile Hall in lieu of $770,000 bail and will be tried as an adult.

catherine.saillant@latimes.com