Mother Of 12-Year-Old Shot And Killed Outside Wilmington Park Elementary Speaks Out
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - After a shooting in Wilmington on Monday that injured a 9-year-old girl and took the life of a 12-year-old Alexander Alvarado, Jenny Romero, the boy's mother, is speaking out.
"He was very innocent, very sweet and loving child," the grieving mother, who didn't want her face shown on camera, said. "You don't know what pain we feel now."
The 12-year-old was killed just before 5 p.m. Monday outside Wilmington Park Elementary School. His mother said Alvarado was with her wife, Evelin, picking up his 10-year-old brother from an after school program. That's when someone Evelin described as a young teen came out of nowhere and started shooting at their car.
"She said it came so quick, she didn't even know what to do. She just stepped on the gas pedal real quick, but it was too late. Two bullets had already hit my son in the back. She said she didn't even feel the one that she had in her stomach until the paramedics told her she was bleeding also," Romero said.
Eveline survived, but Alexander died at the hospital. His 10-year-old brother who was in the backseat was not hurt. He called his mom to tell her what had happened.
"It's the worst news a mother could ever get. The worst, I went crazy," she said.
Romero said she has no idea who or why anyone would want to hurt her family, but they weren't the only victims in this brazen shooting. A stray bullet struck a 9-year-old girl, who was waiting for her grandfather to pick her up on the school's playground nearby.
The girl's mother told CBSLA over the phone that her daughter was hit in the back, around her waist area. They are waiting to see if she needs surgery.
Officials with the Los Angeles Unified School district said that nearly 60 children were on campus when the gunfire erupted, and parents in the area are shaken.
In response to the shooting, community leaders, as well as LAPD, were holding a candlelight vigil to honor the victims and condemn gun violence in our communities.
In the meantime, both families are waiting for answers and an arrest.
"I don't know if it was wrong place at the wrong time or if it was just already meant to be. I don't know, but what i can is that there's going to be justice for my baby," Romero said.