Neighbors Donate Funeral Costs for Slain Boy : A Telling Empathy for Salazar Family

The donations came mostly in dimes and quarters, but by the time all the money was counted, Alejandro Salazar’s neighbors had reached their goal.

They had contributed more than $650 to make sure that 10-year-old Alejandro, who was shot and killed July 19 as he played with a group of children, was properly buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery on Monday.

Money for the small, blue casket with silver handles, the wreaths of carnations and the black limousine that carried Alejandro’s weeping family from Guardian Angel Catholic Church to the cemetery was donated by the residents of San Fernando Gardens in Pacoima, a city-run public housing project where Alejandro lived.

“I know it was not easy for them, and we are grateful,” said Mercedes Salazar, 30, the boy’s mother. She is eight months pregnant and has two other children, Johnny, 11, and Nancy, 8. Alejandro’s father, Jose, 31, is a garbage man for a private company in Pacoima.

About 250 people joined the family in the church to hear the Rev. Barney Gatlin’s eulogy in Spanish. Gatlin urged the mourners, many of whom live in the nearby project, to “pray for the mother of the boy who killed Alejandro; she’s feeling pain too, just like the mother of Alejandro.”

A 17-year-old boy who was arrested on suspicion of murdering Alejandro is scheduled to be arraigned today in Sylmar Juvenile Court. The shooting stemmed from a dispute in Pacoima Park between members of Latino and black gangs over a pair of red pants a 14-year-old Latino boy was wearing, Los Angeles Police Officer Jay St. John said.

Rival’s Color

Five black youths confronted three Latino boys and punched one of them wearing red pants, because red is a rival gang’s color, St. John said. As the black youths were leaving, the 17-year-old, who had not been involved in the dispute, fired two shots at their departing car. One of the shots struck Alejandro, St. John said.

After learning that Alejandro had been killed, neighbors formed a committee and began knocking on the complex’s 448 doors to collect donations, said Edgar Arbando, a tenant representative.

“Everyone was so sad and scared it could happen to their children, they gave us a quarter, a dollar, whatever they could,” Arbando said. The smallest donation was 75 cents; the largest, $15, said Carolyn Barajas, who has lived in the Gardens for 20 of her 47 years.

As she stood in the noon sun with a group of other tenants by Alejandro’s graveside, she said she couldn’t help feeling angry about the boy’s death.

“If we had been able to raise money to keep the children occupied, then this never would have happened,” she said.

Barajas said a youth activity committee’s efforts to solicit funds from local corporations has been fruitless so far. The San Fernando Gardens area is overwhelmed by gangs, drug trafficking and vandalism, according to police.

“We’ve got to get the children a safe place to be,” Barajas said. “It’s a sad situation when innocent bystanders have to pay.”