A 13-year-old California boy getting food with his friends at a Chick-fil-A in downtown Los Angeles was stabbed to death by a group of teens, police said.
13-year-old Marco Murillo Jr. was getting food at Chick-fil-A near 7th and Flower streets Wednesday night when another group of teens attacked him, according to his mother, Lorena Lopez.
He was stabbed and rushed to the hospital. He died a short time later.
“Marco was a good kid, with good intentions and a good soul,” said the boy’s aunt, Alexis Lopez.
His mother says there’s no indication her son knew the others involved in the attack.
“As far as I know my son’s never seen these guys a day in his life,” Lorena Lopez told Eyewitness News. “My son’s never seen these guys. I’ve never seen them.”
Police are looking for two juvenile suspects in this case.
One individual, described initially as just a person of interest, was detained and handcuffed for questioning at the scene. But someone in the crowd swung a skateboard at officers and in the commotion, the person in cuffs was able to escape. The individual who swung the skateboard was detained.
A vigil was held to pay tribute to the youth, described as a person with goodness in his heart. Marco’s loved ones are remembering him with handwritten messages and photographs.
“He was so loved,” said Amanda Patterson, a family friend. “He was 13. He was so helpful and wonderful.”
The pain on their faces reflects how deeply they want justice for Marco.
“Whoever did this I would hope they would turn themselves in,” Patterson said. “It’s the right thing to do. The mom doesn’t deserve to bury her 13-year-old son.”
LAPD says the incident started as a verbal dispute between Marco and another teen which turned physical.
Initial reports Wednesday night from police were that the victim had been both shot and stabbed. But investigators later clarified that he was only stabbed, with an unidentified cutting instrument.
Officers are still searching for the suspect.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Gonzales with LAPD at (213)-996-4142. Anonymous information can be provided through Crime Stoppers at 1-(800)-222-TIPS.
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