6 Victims Had Only Tragedy in Common

The victims of Tuesday’s assault-rifle attacks in the San Fernando Valley were a diverse group, young and old, immigrant and native-born, united only by what the FBI described as a bloody, one-hour outburst of hatred and bigotry.

One was a mailman, slain as he was making his rounds. The wounded included three young children, a teenager and a grandmother.

Most of the survivors were recovering Wednesday in hospital rooms packed with family members, stuffed animals and balloons. One small boy was being readied for still more surgery.

The family of the mailman began planning a funeral.

All of the victims, the FBI says, fell prey to avowed racist Buford Furrow’s purposeful rampage against Jews and other minorities.

These are the people who were shot:

* Joseph Ileto, 39, a Filipino American immigrant with two jobs and a fondness for practical jokes, gunned down in a driveway while substituting for another carrier on a mail route in Chatsworth.

* Isabelle Shalometh, 68, the dark-haired, longtime receptionist at the Jewish community center in Granada Hills where the shootings began. She vowed Wednesday to shake off bullet wounds to her back and arm and return to work next week.

* Benjamin Kadish, 5, adored by neighbors in his West Hills cul-de-sac for his never-ending questions, his bright face and his affection for his new puppy, Kahlua.

* Joshua Stepakoff, 6, a curly-haired boy from Northridge who neighbors said loved playing kickball. He was expected to be released from Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles today.

* Mindy Finkelstein, 16, a senior at Chatsworth High School and counselor at the North Valley Jewish Community Center day camp, who was recovering at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Woodland Hills.

* James Zidell, 6, an articulate, dark-haired boy who likes to play cards. He was in good condition at Granada Hills Community Hospital.

Random Encounter

Police say that Ileto, a resident of Chino Hills, was the victim of an apparently random encounter with Furrow on a desolate road in Chatsworth about one hour after the shooting began at the community center on Rinaldi Street.

At the Chatsworth post office where Ileto worked, the flag was flown at half-staff Wednesday. Co-workers cried when they heard from supervisors that Furrow had confessed to killing Ileto.

“There were people in tears here and they were in tears because of their sense of the postal family but also in empathy for Joe’s family,” said Terri Bouffiou, a spokeswoman for the post office.

It was just chance that Ileto was working the route in Chatsworth on Tuesday. As a part-time worker, he covered routes when the regular mail carriers were not available, Bouffiou said. On Tuesday, he was substituting for a colleague.

Ileto had received a commendation recently for being a good worker, postal officials said.

“He was a good guy. He was very likable,” said Alan Takagi, another mail carrier.

At the home of Ileto’s mother in Monterey Park, family members remembered a devoted man who worked two jobs to make ends meet and often endured two-hour commutes.

Raquel Ileto described her brother as a guardian angel who cared for his mother and came to the rescue when siblings needed help.

“They don’t come any nicer,” she said.

Ileto was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States when he was 14, Raquel Ileto said. He attended Schurr High School in Montebello and graduated from East Los Angeles College, where he studied engineering and competed in chess tournaments.

‘I Just Want Justice Done’

The sister said the slaying would be especially terrible if it is a hate crime.

“If it turns out that is the case, I just want justice done,” she said. “It’s sad that there are people out there that think that way.”

Ileto had a second job with AVX Filters Corp. in Sun Valley, where he was a tester of electrical equipment, friends there said.

Rigo Rios, who worked with Ileto at AVX, had known him since the early 1980s, when both attended East Los Angeles College. Ileto loved puzzles and played competitive chess, Rios said.

“He was a happy guy. He was always smiling, always joking around,” Rios said. “It shocked me when I heard he was dead.”

Police say Shalometh was the first victim.

A longtime receptionist, it was her job to greet everyone who came through the door of the community center. On Tuesday, authorities said, that person was Furrow, carrying a 9-millimeter assault rifle.

“She didn’t panic,” said her husband, Hyman Shalometh. “He walked in, stood there and starting spraying bullets.”

Co-workers said Shalometh, who has two daughters and two grandchildren, volunteered at the center and had worked there for more than 15 years. She vowed Wednesday to return to work next week.

“I’m surprised she’s not here today,” said Jeff Kaplan, director of teen services at the center.

Her husband said Shalometh is “looking forward to going back.”

One of their daughters was at their Granada Hills home, helping care for her mother and preventing her from answering the dozens of phone calls from the media and concerned friends.

The most seriously injured boy, Benjamin Kadish, 5, underwent a colostomy Wednesday and was breathing through a tube Wednesday night. He was shot twice, one bullet shattering his left leg, the other perforating his stomach.

Benjamin, who lost 60% of his blood before the hemorrhaging was staunched, will undergo further operations at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, doctors said. He is not expected to return home for several weeks.

Although the boy remained in critical condition Wednesday night, hospital officials were increasingly optimistic that he will pull through.

“I’m very hopeful he’ll make it through these difficult times,” said Hossein Mahour, the attending physician at Childrens Hospital, on Wednesday night.

In the tidy West Hills cul-de-sac where the Kadish family lives, neighbors were distraught.

They said Benjamin loves rolling around in the grass with his puppy Kahlua and bounding through the neighborhood, sometimes yelling his head off, with his 9-year-old brother Josh.

The neighbors already missed him.

“Whenever Benjamin would see me outside, whether I was trimming the bushes or cutting the lawn, he would say, ‘Hi, Alan, what are you doing today?’ ” said next-door neighbor Alan Bamossy. “He always seemed so happy to see me. He reminded me of my own kids.”

Benjamin’s parents could not be reached. Charles Kadish, an electrical contractor, and Eleanor Kadish, an administrative assistant, have been spending nights at the hospital, their friends said.

James Zidell’s family said they believed he would recover quickly from his bullet wound in a heel.

The boy’s grandmother expressed relief that he was not seriously injured.

“He’s stable, everything is fine, and everyone is helpful,” said the grandmother, who didn’t want to be identified. “He will heal up just fine.”

A neighbor in Granada Hills, who didn’t want to be named, described James as a very sweet, nice boy--”your typical little boy next door.”

Another of the young victims was learning Wednesday how to maneuver a wheelchair.

Shot in the left leg and hip, 6-year-old Joshua Stepakoff was wearing a cast from ankle to his hip.

Curly-haired and pudgy-cheeked, Joshua loves riding a new bike around the cul-de-sac where he lives in Northridge, neighbors said.

Hospital sources say he’s expected to be released from the hospital today.

“His spirits were good,” said Rabbi Jerry Brown of Temple Ahavat Shalom where the Stepakoffs are members.” He’s a good little guy.”

Mindy Finkelstein, a popular Chatsworth High School senior who was shot in the leg, was talking Wednesday with friends and family in her hospital room and struggling to understand the fury of a gunman she never saw.

She said she had her back to him as he entered and began firing more than 70 rounds from his weapon. She heard popping sounds and felt pain.

Mindy had been a counselor at the center for two years.

She was on the junior varsity volleyball team at the high school, where she was described as a popular student. On Wednesday, her hospital room was packed with well-wishers.

Mindy’s rabbi, Debbie Till, who presided over her confirmation ceremony, described the 16-year-old as “a delightful student, a good-hearted kid. The whole family is wonderful.”

The city attorney’s Victim of Crime Program urged victims and families to apply for financial help. Those shot in the crime spree are eligible for up to $46,000 in state funds to cover medical costs.

Victims physically present at the shooting and family members of the shooting victims are eligible for up to $10,000 to cover the cost of psychological counseling.

More on Shootings

Weapon--The rifle taken from the alleged gunman was assembled piecemeal. A14

Fear--Scores of families kept their children home a day after rampage. A15