A Sad Farewell to Drive-By Victim, 5 : Gang violence: Memorial organizer hopes death of Ashley Johnson, shot from a passing car Sunday, will help to deter shootings and bring change.

A humble memorial was erected Friday on the South-Central Los Angeles street where a 5-year-old girl was shot in the back as she played hopscotch with friends at a birthday party.

The curbside memorial of flowers and religious candles was placed in the front yard of the house where Ashley Johnson was fatally wounded Sunday afternoon as she ran from gunshots fired from a passing car.

There, a dozen sympathizers and neighbors gathered around a cardboard sign that said: “Please forgive us. We love you Ashley.”

“I want this child to be a rallying point to bring about a different atmosphere in the black community,” said CaShears, the organizer of the gathering near the corner of 89th Street and McKinley Avenue. Also attending were police officers and representatives of local elected officials and social organizations, including the Black Agenda.

“I grieve not only for Ashley Johnson, but also for the child that felt the need to pick up a gun and shoot his brothers and sisters,” said CaShears, who called for a truce between two local gangs whose escalating war has terrorized the neighborhood, forcing some residents to hide behind locked doors day and night.

But a group of gang members standing about 50 feet away from the memorial gathering were skeptical that peace would come soon.

“He (CaShears) talked to us,” one of them said. “Man, it ain’t never gonna stop. Some guys will truce, but the hardheads won’t.”

An hour earlier, Ashley was buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Compton. There, Pastor M. G. Owens of Mt. Carmel Holy Assembly Baptist Church said: “My words are very few right now.

“I’m just hoping we get to the bottom of some of these things in the community.”

Among the 200 relatives and friends of the Johnson family who came to watch Ashley’s little white casket lowered into the ground was Los Angeles Police Officer Danny Woods.

“It’s bad enough when gang members are killing each other, but it is even worse when a 5-year-old innocent child who doesn’t even understand what life is about is killed by them,” Woods said. “It hurts me deep inside. I have twin daughters almost the same age.”

Police authorities said Ashley was shot late Sunday afternoon while she played with several friends--none of them older than 8--in front of the home of Elizabeth Wilson, who was holding a birthday party for her 2-year-old son.

They were waiting to be called into the house to sing “Happy Birthday” when two men in a passing car opened fire at a group of rival gang members standing nearby.

“Ashley was struck once in the back,” said Police Lt. Larry Hinrichs. “The bullet came out her chest.”

Wilson said a 14-year-old girl “scooped the child up from the ground, brought her in the house and (put) her on the floor.”

“She started spitting up blood,” Wilson said. “A minister came over, touched her head and prayed. The police came too. It was too late.”

Hinrichs said a 17-year-old gang member believed to have been the driver of the car has been arrested on suspicion of murder. A second suspect, Rance Benson, 18, remained at large on Friday.

“We have received information from local gang members regarding this individual,” Hinrichs said. “I think he’s got his head buried someplace because he knows the heat is on.”

As the crowd gathered in front of the Wilson home began to thin, CaShears vowed to “keep memory alive as long as I can.”

“You can hug and protect your children for years, but the moment you let them go, you can lose them,” he said. “It’s almost like they’re waiting for them.”