Man Arrested in Slaying of Hollywood Girl, 11

A 29-year-old man was arrested at the Mexican border Saturday in the killing of an 11-year-old Hollywood girl, who was shot to death in front of two other children, police said.

Authorities said the man broke into the house, demanded to see the girl’s mother and then shot the girl after the mother dashed out the back door to safety.

Francisco Campos was arrested Saturday morning at the Mexican border and charged with the murder of Yahayra Barrera, who died in front of two 10-year-old girls.

According to police, one of several people in the house tried to summon help when Campos, a next-door neighbor, began banging on the door demanding to see the mother. When those inside refused to open the door, he broke through a front window, entered and grabbed the child, who was in the bedroom with the other children.

He fired two to six bullets into the child as he was demanding to know the whereabouts of the girl’s mother, police said.

A police dispatcher heard the tragedy unfolding. “She was pretty shook up but she was able to do her job,” Detective Dennis Kilcoyne said of the dispatcher, who could hear the shots being fired inside the small house on El Centro Avenue.

Authorities are trying to establish a motive for the killing and sort out the relationships of the witnesses in the house.

The suspect was quickly identified, though he fled the scene. Police said he lived next door with his girlfriend and, after the killing, contacted relatives who drove him across the Mexican border.

During the 10 hours after Campos fled, there were several telephone calls to family members on this side of the border. Kilcoyne said police were involved in the conversations and believe Campos was returning to the United States to turn himself in when border agents arrested him.

A sister and brother were in the car with him, police said.

Investigators found what they believe is the murder weapon, a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun, stashed underneath a San Fernando Valley house occupied by people identified as Campos’ relatives.