As friends, relatives and residents continued adding to a memorial in Long Beach, police continued searching Monday for the gunman who shot and killed a 26-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter.
Carina Mancera and her daughter, Jennabel Anaya, were killed around 10:30 p.m. Saturday at East Ninth Street and Locust Avenue, said Long Beach police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt. Mancera was pronounced dead at the scene, coroner’s investigator Selena Barros said.
Dozens of mourners held a tearful vigil Sunday night where the double homicide occurred. More people continued to stop by the shooting site today, adding flowers and balloons to a growing memorial.
“The preliminary investigation determined the two victims and the child’s father, Luis Anaya, had just arrived home and were walking to their nearby residence, where they lived together, when the shooting occurred,” according to police.
Luis Anaya told police a man walked up to his wife and daughter and suddenly opened fire. The gunman then ran from the scene after the shooting. A motive for the shooting was unknown.
Paramedics rushed Jennabel Anaya to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, where she later died from her wounds, Barros said.
Long Beach Police detectives asked anyone with information on the shooting to call them at (562) 570-7244.
Meanwhile, contributions poured in to a GoFundMe page to help the family cover funeral expenses.
“Our family is heartbroken with this tragic event, and we hope that you can help us give these two beautiful souls a graceful resting place,” according to the family’s message on the website.
As of late Monday morning, more than $14,000 had been raised.
—City News Service