Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez was mortally wounded on Monday, September 27th, in a parking lot near Millikan High School — a 3,500-student campus not far from the city’s airport. A school safety officer, identified by the Long Beach school district as Eddie F. Gonzalez, was on traffic duty near the school. Shortly after 3 p.m. Gonzalez saw a scuffle on the street between Rodriguez and an unidentified 15-year-old girl, according to an account provided by the Long Beach Police Department.
Long Beach police described Rodriguez as being struck in her “upper body.” Rodriguez’ family says she was shot in the head. Gonzalez, the school safety officer, has been placed on administrative leave, pending investigations by both the Long Beach Police Department and the District Attorney’s office.Luis Castillo, a lawyer representing the family, says that “the shooting was totally unjustified. This was beyond atrocious. This was a crime.
to California’s attorney general, calling on state authorities to pursue criminal accountability for the “unjustified use of deadly force.”Long Beach Unified School District hires school safety officers to “model and promote a positive, productive and safe campus climate,” adding that officers are expected to “intervene in conflicts… and de-escalate situations.
😣