Two Youths Held in Slaying Near School

Police booked 14- and 15-year-old youths Wednesday on murder charges in the east Hollywood shooting of a John Marshall High School student. Juan Velazquez, 17, was shot several times in the upper torso Tuesday afternoon, and after briefly fleeing his attackers, collapsed across the street from Thomas Starr King Middle School.

The 14-year-old was arrested at his family’s home Tuesday night just a few blocks from the crime scene and was being held at Eastlake Juvenile Hall.

Accompanied by his father, the 15-year-old turned himself in at Rampart police station at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

“They seem to be getting younger all the time,” said Los Angeles Police Det. Andrew Teague, who is handling the case.

Teague classified the victim and suspects as gang members, based on witness interviews and their actions moments before the shooting.

The two youths--whose names were withheld because they are juveniles--are believed to be the only attackers. Police suspect that Velazquez was slain by only one assailant; they would not comment on which boy pulled the trigger.

On Tuesday, several King school students--about to be released for the day--were held back by teachers just inside the main school gate when they saw the bloodied Velazquez fall at Fountain and Myra avenues at 2:09 p.m.

Teague said both suspects had dropped out of school months ago but did not rule out the possibility that they once attended King school.

School records showed that Velazquez had been a King student from sixth through eighth grades. One teacher said he remembered a Juan Velasquez in his course a few years ago but said the name was too common to be sure it was the same boy. Marshall High Principal Thomas Abraham said Velazquez’s records indicated no disciplinary problems or gang affiliation. Teachers reported that the junior was a mediocre pupil who rarely missed class and was on schedule to graduate at the end of next school year.

“I think the only reason he was out on the street was because his track was dismissed for the day at 1 o’clock,” Abraham said. “He is the kind of student that just comes and goes without getting into trouble.”

Citing the school’s anti-gang dress code, he said, “What he did on the outside I don’t know, but in school he would not have been allowed to wear gang clothing.”

But near the principal’s office, Susie Mejia, 16, a friend of Velazquez’s, said the teenager often “dressed like a gang member but never acted like one.”

Up until eight months ago, Velazquez belonged to a soccer league that practiced a few blocks from his family’s house on the middle school’s field every Saturday.

Mejia said she would often play soccer with the teenage boys who were in the league. Most would say that she was not strong enough to keep pace, but Velazquez always encouraged her, she said.

“He used to say ‘You can do it,’ when others would just laugh,” she said. “I cried last night when I found out that person was gone.”