Anaheim Killing, in Full View of Kids, Makes Them Witnesses

As the long summer day finally cooled, a man in black walked down the Anaheim sidewalk Monday evening to confront a 14-year-old boy.

The issue was disrespect. The suspected gang member felt the boy had disparaged the man’s girlfriend.

Jorge Flores, a wiry 27-year-old gardener who lived nearby, stepped in to protect the boy. For the favor, the man fatally shot Flores in the chest.

Police Sgt. Tim Schmidt, who provided the description of events, said those living in the Ariel Olinda neighborhood in the west section of the city have become increasingly forceful against local criminals. It’s an effort measured by walls scrubbed blank of graffiti, more trees and now, by Flores’ death.

“This is a place where kids play -- where my kids play. We won’t stand for this!” said Israel Clark, 28, whose son was among the children playing nearby when the shots rang out.

The same children, who were riding bikes and sitting under trees at the time of the shooting, about 7 p.m., are the main witnesses to the killing.

Investigators have developed solid leads and are confident they will find the killer, Schmidt said.

Flores’ fiance lived with him in a nearby apartment. Her 9-year-old daughter said she was sitting on the grass as the shooter approached.

He walked deliberately and slowly, the girl said. “I remember he had a mean face on, so I went inside,” she said.

From inside the apartment, she said, she never heard voices rise in anger before the gunfire.

Her mother, who was at the stove cooking dinner, rushed to her fiance lying on a narrow stretch of grass.

Paramedics came quickly and took him to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died Tuesday morning.

Another man, who police said tried to grab the gun from the shooter, was shot in the hand. He was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

Flores’ fiance, who spoke listlessly, said she met Flores about eight months ago when he moved to the area. They moved in together two months later and planned to marry as soon as her divorce was final.

On nights and weekends, she said, Flores most enjoyed watching Angel games on television. Police said Flores had never been in trouble with the law.

Unlike others in the neighborhood with children at home, though, he had not spoken out against gang violence, his fiance said.

Instead, his intervention on behalf of the 14-year-old boy seemed to come spontaneously.

The neighborhood of high-density apartments, built in the 1960s, is among those that the city has worked to improve.

“It is one of our highest priorities,” said Community Services Superintendent Steve Swaim.

The city is spending money to beautify the area with more trees, new pavement and community cleanups.

Swaim said Ariel Olinda’s cleanups “are always full of volunteers.”

Gang-related homicides are down markedly throughout the city in recent years. Last year, police recorded four.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Det. Elizabeth Faria at (714) 765-1973.