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LONG BEACH, CA — At this week’s city council meeting, councilmembers unanimously voted to establish a reward for no less that $25,000 for information that could lead to the arrest of the killer of a 12-year-old boy earlier this month.
Together with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the two entities will discuss issuing a reward to anyone who is able to help catch the suspects involved in the shooting death of Eric Gregory Brown III on May 9.
“My heart goes out to the family of Eric Gregory Brown III, a young child with a promising future. Together, we are determined to find those responsible for this devastating loss and are held accountable,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We are offering a reward of no less than $25,000 for any information leading to the individuals involved.”
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The total reward amount has not yet been determined, but if the County decides to move forward and contribute to the total reward amount, the item will be heard at a future Board of Supervisors meeting.
“This violence will not be tolerated in Long Beach. We will do everything we can to bring justice to these grieving families and hold these criminals accountable for their actions,” aid Sixth District Councilwoman Dr. Suely Saro.
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At about 11:30 p.m. on May 9 officers were sent to the 2200 block of Lewis Avenue, between Martin Luther King Jr. and Orange Avenues, after receiving reports of a shooting that left a 12-year-old boy dead and injured a 14-year-old girl.
The wounded boy, Eric, and girl were taken to a hospital, where Eric died and the girl suffered a non-life-threatening wound to her lower body, police said.
According to police, Eric, the 14-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl were walking on the sidewalk when a vehicle approached them, occupied by at least two males.
No description was released of the vehicle or suspects. The younger girl was not injured, police said.
“The shooting that took place last night is absolutely devastating,” LBPD Chief Wally Hebeish said in a statement. “A young boy’s life has been cut short due to an intolerable act of gun violence. While we mourn this loss as a community, our officers will not stop working to locate and arrest those responsible for this tragedy.”
Neighbors told Fox 11 that investigators were canvassing home surveillance cameras to help identify the suspect’s vehicle.
“It’s kind of crazy. I just heard the shots and five minutes later, the whole block was blocked off,” a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous told Fox11.
The wounded 14-year-old girl is now at home, NBC4 reported. Her father, David Chen, said she was shot in the leg.
“She was lucky that it didn’t hit the bone,” he told reporters.
Eric’s friends and relatives gathered recently outside a relative’s apartment to mourn him and light candles, in a vigil that was attended by city officials and some of the boy’s classmates from Jackson Middle School, the Long Beach Post reported.
“I got calls that I was on the five o’clock news,” Eric’s grandmother Cynthia Johnson said, according to the LB Post. “I hope the shooters saw me. I mean, who kills kids?”
Council members Suely Saro and Al Austin and representatives from Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson’s office also attended the vigil.
A GoFundMe account established for the boy’s family had raised more than $14,500 as of Thursday afternoon. The account was established by LaQuioa Joseph, whose cousin Angela Washington was Eric’s mother.
“He was just a baby in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Joseph wrote on the Gofundme page. “Eric was the 2nd of 5 children leaving behind his mother, his siblings and a host of family and lots of friends. Eric will be remembered for his loving smile and his dance moves. Unfortunately as a single mother Angela was not prepared to have to bury her son. Eric left a void in the family and will be forever missed.”
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Anyone with information on the shooting was urged to call Detectives Michael Hubbard or Jesus Espinoza at 562-570-7244, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222- TIPS. Tipsters may also use the website www.lacrimestoppers.org.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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