GANG WATCH : ‘Now He’s Dead’

At most junior high schools, the afternoon bell signals freedom. But the bell Monday at El Sereno Junior High signaled an eruption of violence in which students were forced to duck for cover as a gunman fired 15 shots toward a car filled with rival gang members. Tragically, 13-year-old Mario Martinez was hit by a stray bullet as he walked home from school. He died, yet another innocent victim of senseless gang warfare.

Like most teen-agers in Southern California, Mario was not a gang member. Like most teen-agers in his and other Latino or black working-class neighborhoods, he could not escape exposure to an ongoing carnage--one that would end his life.

Unlike the thugs who terrorize the Northeast Los Angeles area where his school is situated, Mario wanted to become a police officer. At school, he participated in a program similar to the ROTC; he was in the California Cadet Corps, sponsored by the California National Guard. As one of his sisters told a reporter: “No gangs. No drugs. . . . And now he’s dead.”

His parents need help to bury the youngest of their eight children. The El Sereno Community Coordinating Council plans to assist with the fund raising. Kim Kong, the owner of Johnnie’s Market, where Mario used to bag groceries, is also collecting money for the funeral.

The neighborly assistance is touching. But the fact remains that it is inspired by the loss of yet another innocent life. What will it take to stop, or even slow, the gunfire? What must be done so that kids can walk home from school without having to duck for cover?