3 Brothers Shot to Death in 5 Days; Gangs Suspected

In just five days, three Florence brothers lost their lives to suspected gang violence. It didn’t matter that the Inglewood men were not gang members.

Torry Florence, 29, was the last to die when doctors took him off life support early Tuesday morning. He and Michael Florence, 27, were shot Saturday night while driving the streets of their hometown.

They had been looking for answers in the death of Christopher Florence, 21, who was killed by gunfire Thursday.

Inglewood police officers said the killings appeared to have been gang-related, although they stressed that the brothers had not been involved in gangs. No arrests have been made.

“It was a close-knit family where the boys were brought up,” said Police Det. Jeff Steinhoff.

He added that the men’s mother, Inglewood resident Brenda Florence, was in seclusion and “not doing good at all.” Neighbors said that she has one remaining son--a teenager--and that her husband died of an illness some time ago.

Christopher Florence was shot at 9 p.m. Thursday while driving his black Honda in the 10200 block of 10th Avenue in Inglewood, Steinhoff said. He died at midnight Friday at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.

The detective said there is no known motive for the shooting, but the investigation is focusing on gangs.

Michael and Torry Florence were “very upset” by their brother’s death, and apparently decided Saturday night to try to learn more about the shooting, Steinhoff said.

“[They] were on their way down to that area to try to solve or get some answers as to how [their] brother got killed,” Steinhoff said.

As Michael and Torry waited in their car at a Century Boulevard red light, about a half-mile from where Christopher was shot, a car pulled up beside them and at least one occupant opened fire, the detective said.

Michael was pronounced dead at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center on Sunday morning. Torry was taken to King/Drew, where he died at 2:50 a.m. Tuesday.

Longtime neighbor Frances Featherstone, 82, said the Florence family had lived there about 20 years. “The kids had a good life,” she said. “They were never underfoot. . . . When they got ready to play, their mother always took them to the park.”

Another neighbor, Noa J. Morris, described the brothers as a considerate, loving bunch who had looked after their mother after their father died.

“My God, they were great kids,” Morris, 58, said through a rush of tears. “After the dad died, the boys took over. They always cared for their mother. I’d see them hug each other just coming and going to the mailbox.”

On Sunday morning, as Morris was getting ready for church, she heard Brenda Florence’s screams fill the apartment complex. Morris said she mistakenly thought the shock of Christopher’s killing had just begun to sink in with her devastated neighbor.

“I thought to myself, ‘It hit Brenda now,’ ” Morris said. “I hadn’t gone over [earlier] because there was so much family around, and I thought now would be the perfect time to talk to her.”

Morris did walk over, and saw police officers gathered there. “They said, ‘We’ve got some more bad news. Mike is dead and Torry’s in critical condition.’

“Brenda was hollering--she said, ‘My babies! How come they didn’t take me? Oh, my babies . . .’ ”

The police said gang violence is up in Inglewood. Since Jan. 1, there have been 25 gang-related killings, compared with 16 in all of last year, Lt. Eve Irvine said.

Witnesses to the Florence killings are asked to call the police at (310) 412-5210 or (310) 412-5246.