Residents Urged to Help Find Killers

Community leaders urged residents of a shaken South Los Angeles neighborhood Friday to help police find two gunmen responsible for the slayings of three people, including a 10-year-old boy.

“The homicide of our children has to be the No. 1 priority, and if the adults of the community won’t step forward and get it under control, it’s not going to change,” said Lita “Sister” Herron, spokeswoman for Mothers on the March. “We have to be unified. These are our children dying at the hands of our children. It’s a disgrace, a hurtful, shameful disgrace.”

Herron was joined by other black leaders during a news conference at the East 49th Street home where Larry Marcial, 22; his nephew David Marcial, 10; and a neighbor, Luis Cervantes, 17, were killed. David’s brother, Sergio Marcial Jr., 12, was wounded in the June 30 shooting.

Police said two gunmen, armed with automatic weapons, got out of a car and shot the victims point-blank on the sidewalk before fleeing. No arrests have been made, and investigators have not established a motive. A $105,000 reward has been offered by the city and county for information about the gunmen.

Activists, concerned that the violence might be race-related, announced plans for an emergency summit of black and Latino leaders to address long-standing tensions between the two communities. The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Lucy Florence Coffeehouse in Leimert Park Village.

“We’re not saying it’s racially motivated,” said Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable about the attack. But “we’re calling for a summit to reduce tensions.”

Also Friday, several dozen area residents were expected to join the candlelight “Black & Brown Unity Walk” beginning at 46th Street and South Central Avenue to honor the shooting victims, said Najee Ali, executive director of Project Islamic HOPE. He organized the walk with the National Action Network and the Latino & African American Leadership Alliance.

“The shooting was a tragedy that we hope will not be repeated in retaliatory shootings or violence,” he said. “The walk gives a visible display of community unity to show that the majority of African Americans and Latinos do live side by side peacefully” and gives residents “an outlet to voice their rage in a constructive ... manner.”

Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents the area, said the community’s first priority should be helping police find the killers.

“Anything that opens doors and builds bridges in an ongoing relationship is a good thing, but first and foremost, come together to find the people who did this,” she said.

Miguel Marcial, 39, a cousin of David Marcial’s father, said the unity walk and summit would help bring peace to the community. He said he believes the shootings were neither gang-related nor racially motivated, but rather a case of mistaken identity.

“We have a lot of friends who are African Americans,” Marcial said. “We’ve lived here for 25 years, and our families have never experienced anything like this.”

The gatherings are “good, because we need peace here,” he added. “We’re neighbors. We have to live together.”

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call (877) 529-3855. Callers may report information anonymously.

To make donations to the victims’ families, call Perry’s office at (213) 473-7009, e-mail jan.perry@lacity.org or send a fax to (213) 473-5983.