Melody Ross, a 16-year-old honor student was killedTue, Nov 3, 2009
By SCOTT WEBER
NBC Los Angeles
Melody Ross, a 16-year-old honor student, was fatally shot following Friday night's homecoming game at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach. Now the County Board of Supervisors wants answers and is expected to approve a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest of the gunman.
Police described Ross as "an innocent bystander who was not involved" in the dispute that led to the gunfire.
"There was an argument between two groups of people and shots were fired into a crowd," said Long Beach Police Sgt. Dina Zapalski. Witnesses heard five to seven shots as the crowd left the stadium after Polytechnic beat Wilson, 34-15.
Ross and two men, ages 18 and 20, were hit. The men are expected to survive. Ross, however, died at the hospital from a gunshot wound to her side, police said.
Ross was a junior at Wilson, where she was on the track team and was enrolled in advanced placement classes, according to school officials, who said they had extra security at the game against cross- town rival Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
No arrests have been made in the case.
County Supervisors hope the reward will encourage someone to come forward with information. Police urged anyone who took photos or video at the game or with more information about the crime, to contact detectives Scott Lasch or Malcolm Evans at (562) 570-7244.
The teen's uncle, Sam Che, told the Los Angeles Times the family had emigrated from Cambodia to the United States in the 1980s. "We escaped the killing fields," he said.
Police described Ross as "an innocent bystander who was not involved" in the dispute that led to the gunfire.
"There was an argument between two groups of people and shots were fired into a crowd," said Long Beach Police Sgt. Dina Zapalski. Witnesses heard five to seven shots as the crowd left the stadium after Polytechnic beat Wilson, 34-15.
Ross and two men, ages 18 and 20, were hit. The men are expected to survive. Ross, however, died at the hospital from a gunshot wound to her side, police said.
Ross was a junior at Wilson, where she was on the track team and was enrolled in advanced placement classes, according to school officials, who said they had extra security at the game against cross- town rival Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
No arrests have been made in the case.
County Supervisors hope the reward will encourage someone to come forward with information. Police urged anyone who took photos or video at the game or with more information about the crime, to contact detectives Scott Lasch or Malcolm Evans at (562) 570-7244.
The teen's uncle, Sam Che, told the Los Angeles Times the family had emigrated from Cambodia to the United States in the 1980s. "We escaped the killing fields," he said.
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