Family of Shooting Victim Asks for Help

Standing arm in arm and holding the picture of their fallen family member, relatives of a former Marine shot in the head at an Anaheim automated teller machine thanked friends and strangers Friday for their support and asked for more prayers “to get us through this.”

Tony Gallant, 30, of Long Beach remained heavily sedated and in critical condition Friday with a bullet lodged in his brain from a Wednesday night attack at a Wells Fargo ATM. His mother and siblings took a break from their bedside vigil to acknowledge well-wishers and ask for help in tracking down Gallant’s assailant.

“Anyone out there with information, any information at all, please call,” the victim’s brother, Tim, said to a group of reporters outside UCI Medical Center. “We would just like to thank everybody for all their prayers. . . . Keep them coming in.”

As he spoke, Tim Gallant held a framed portrait of his brother in his U.S. Marine’s uniform, a photo taken when the victim was a teen fresh from boot camp. Tony Gallant had been working at a Home Depot in Anaheim, a workplace he had left just minutes before he was shot Wednesday night.

The circumstances of the crime remain unclear. Police said Gallant was found with his wallet and a small amount of cash. A relative said Friday that the family has not been told whether the victim had already made a withdrawal when the shooting took place just after 11 p.m. Gallant had only $30 in his account, according to his sister, Terri Smith.

“If he had any money, it wasn’t much,” said Smith, a Long Beach Fire Department dispatcher. “That’s why it’s all so crazy.”

Family members said Gallant had stopped to get money to rent a video, which he planned to watch with his fiancee, Krishna Zadoo. The two were to be married next month. Zadoo stood silent and red-eyed Friday as Gallant’s siblings talked to reporters.

Relatives said Gallant has moved his arms and legs and recognizes the voices of family members, but there is concern that the gunshot wound may affect his eyesight. “There are a lot of encouraging signs,” Smith said. “We’re just trying to remain hopeful.”

Wells Fargo has posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter, and authorities are asking for anyone with information to call Anaheim police detectives at (714) 254-1947. A trust fund has also been created to help the family cope with medical bills. Donations can be sent to the Tony Gallant Trust Fund, in care of the Long Beach Fire Department Credit Union, 2245 Argonne Ave., Long Beach, 90815.