Marco Gomez, 31

Marco Gomez, 31, a Latino man, was killed in an officer-involved shooting in the 1400 block of 23rd Street in South Los Angeles about 11:05 p.m. Friday, May 2.

According to police, officers from the Newton Area Gang Enforcement Detail responded to a radio call of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers were told that Gomez had fired a shot at someone and then ran inside a home.  Officers prepared to enter the home and search for Gomez after he refused to come out.

When Officers Eric Rose and Kevin Raines entered the home, they encountered Gomez armed with a semi-automatic pistol, police said. Both Rose and Raines shot Gomez multiple times. Police were unable to confirm whether Gomez fired his weapon or not. Authorities said Gomez was pronounced dead at the scene and that the semi-automatic pistol was recovered.

Comments

[BETTY (20TH HOOPER)]

I THINK THIS IS A REAL TRAGIC AND FOR SOMEONE TO DIE LIKE THAT IS NOT RIGHT. YOU KNOW U GAND BANG AND HAVE ENEMYS BUT NO MATTER WHERE U GO YOUR ALWAYS THE TARGET OUT THERE NOT EVEN YOUR ENEMYS GET TO KILL YOU. BUT AT THE END THE ONES THAT END UP KILLING YOU ARE THE COPS THAT SUPPOSELY ARE HERE TO PROTECT AND SERVE YEAH RIGHT. I NEW THIS GUY AND HIS FAMILY THEY ARE REAL GOOD PEOPLE HE HAD KIDS AND WAS VERY FREINDLY ON FRIDAY THE MAY THE 2ND I WAS DRIVING HOME WITH MY TWO BOYS AND STOP AT THE STORE ON 21ST HE WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF HIS HOUSE ON THE SIDEWALK AND HE WAVED HI AT ME. SO I HONKED AT HIM THIS IS SAD HOW YOUR LIFE HAS TO END BUT THIS PROVES THAT GOD ONLY TAKES THE BEST! MY CONDOLENCES GO OUT TO THE WHOLE FAMILY AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL!! BETTY AND FAMILY

[miguel]

What is going on in the Mexican community?? Parents, abuelos, tios, tias, older hermanos, maestros (teachers), sacerdotes (Catholic priests) social workers, ect. need to teach young Mexican/Latin men to stop spirling in the black hole of guns, drugs, gangs and violence! They need to teach these young men to be Pro-Life!! Teach them to value their lives and the lives of other people! This is so much against the commandment of Our Lord Jesus, who said: "Love one another as I love you, so that all men will see that you are my disciples." He also said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." These are the things the late Pope John Paul preach when he was alive against the culture of death!

[anon]

Here's another example of police murdering someone. Marcos was my friend and I know the details he was not armed he was seated on a couch in plain view of the murderous officers he did not heed to their initial command to get up and they shot him he did not threaten them nor did he approach them in a threatening manner all he did was sit there and get shot. These officers ego was hurt when he did not respond. So there's a lesson to be learned from this do what the masters say or get killed plain and simple.

[Maribel Briseno]

This was my cousin and from what I have been told by witnesses, he was not armed! My cousin was killed because he did not immediately come out the house as the "officers of the law" ordered him to. When I learned of this tragedy, I asked myself, why did the officers not negotiate with him since they claim that he was armed? Why did they shoot him so many times? Why did more than one officer feel the need to shoot him? There have been SEVERAL other similar occurrences that we hear about in the news where the police officers negotiate with the suspect. There have been several instances where they call a loved one to help them talk to the suspect and bring a more positive ending to a situation, whether that means going to jail. Going to jail would have been better than just killing him cold hearted. I'm wondering, are the officers actually stating facts on their report? It's interesting to hear the witnesses’ stories and the one of the police officers, they don't coincide. I'm also asking, why we see more people dying in the hands of police officers in South LA area and in other areas they use their "training tactics" of negotiating. Remember the man that was barricaded in San Fernando Valley? They spent so much time negotiating with him and he had a gun, interesting isn't it? I respect the law, but as a family member of this lost soul, it worries me that our officers are killing our citizens whom they are supposed to protect and serve. I want to add that, I'm not defending my cousin's mistakes in life because I'm sure he lived and learned but I'm against killing people without using the tools, trainings and tactics that we hear on television the officers go through in order to better serve the people that live in the community they work in.