Crowd Mourns Boy Killed in ‘Urban Terrorism’ at Recreation Center

The shooting death of a 13-year-old boy who tutored at a recreation center in South Los Angeles has shaken city officials and activists who are calling it an exceptional act of violence.

Marquese Rashad Prude was killed when a suspected gang member entered the lobby of the recreation center of St. Andrews Park on the afternoon of Nov. 28 and fired several shots before fleeing, police said.

Prude had no gang affiliations, and apparently was shot because he happened to be the first person the killer saw, they said.

“Urban terrorism” was how Los Angeles Police Det. Rudy Lemos described the shooting.

Prude’s funeral Wednesday morning drew so many mourners that scores of people spilled over into the lobby and sidewalks outside the large, packed auditorium in the Angeles Funeral Home.

Marquese was remembered as “very happy. A kid who never complained,” said his mother, Sharon Brown. “His dream was to be a lawyer--if he didn’t make it to the NBA. So I said to him, ‘OK, you can have hopes and dreams for the NBA, but let’s prepare for being a lawyer.’ Lawyer sounded better to me.”

He was “young, energetic, smart and full of promise,” said James Harris, a gang-intervention worker who often talked to the boy at the recreation center.

When it came to gangs, “he shunned them,” Harris said. “His mother had a vision for him. A lot of the stuff around him--he was kind of oblivious to it.”

Mary Ann DuPree, his fourth-grade teacher, said: “He was high achieving, academically and socially. And he could charm the socks off you.” A candlelight vigil Monday also drew a large crowd.

City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks are scheduled to attend a community meeting at 5:30 p.m. today at the recreation center at 8701 St. Andrews Place to discuss security and other crime prevention issues.

Marquese’s mother said she tried to set a good example by valuing education, and had recently gone back to school herself. She earned a bachelor’s degree this year and was working toward a master’s.

Marquese was looking forward to studying at a university someday, she said.

Det. Lemos said Marquese’s mother had “done all the right things” to ensure that her son steered clear of violent gangs in the area.

Brown said she had sent him to the recreation center daily since he was a small child because she considered it a safe haven.

Marquese “always helped the other kids. They liked him,” said friend Danny Jacobs, 13.

At the funeral, Charles Chavoor, south district recreation supervisor for the city, stood outside with the crowd, his lips tight.

“When we talk about St. Andrews, we are taking about the most successful recreation center in my district,” he said, shaking his head. “This is terror. It is beyond violence . . . it’s unprecedented.”

‘The Rolls-Royce’ of Area Parks

Chavoor was standing near senior park ranger Albert Torres.

Along with police, Torres responded to the call from park employees after the shooting, and said rangers were taken by surprise. There had been no indication that the park near Manchester Boulevard and Western Avenue was a hot spot for violence, he said.

“This is something I live to prevent,” Torres lamented. “It’s my duty.”

St. Andrews is considered, “the Rolls-Royce of parks” in the area, said Perry Crouch, an outreach worker for the Central Recovery Development Program, a community service organization.

Ridley-Thomas said he plans to visit the neighborhood around the park with city officials today and go door-to-door before addressing the community gathering.

“We will deliver a clear message that those who dare take the lives of children in any of our recreation facilities will be met with the full weight of the law.”

At one point, the usually loquacious Ridley-Thomas broke off and stood staring at the ground, his hands on his hips. “I just don’t understand,” he said.

The killing occurred in the Los Angeles Police Department’s 77th Division, where violence has been on the increase in recent years. Marquese was one of 75 homicides in the division so far this year, 50 of which were gang-related.

But Lathian Tyler, center director, said the park had not had problems with gang activity.