HONOR FOR THOSE MURDERED IN SAN PEDRO; THE SAN PEDRO SAFETY COLLABORATIVE ASKS INTERESTED FAMILIES OF MURDER VICTIMS TO HELP TELL THEIR STORY AND PROVIDE PHOTOS FOR THE MAY 15 PEACE VIGIL; VOLUNTEERS ARE ALSO NEEDED: THIS WEEK, ANOTHER CHILD FALLS VICTIM TO VIOLENCE

By Diana L. Chapman

Officials of a three-year-old collaborative working to prevent violence in San Pedro are asking families of scores of murder victims to step forward and share their stories and photos to honor the victims at a May 15 peace vigil. Another child was killed in the seaside community this week in a possible gang-related incident.

The Peace and Unity rally will be held at San Pedro High School's Pirate Stadium at 6 p.m. as a way to allow victim's families and the community at large to mourn and come together against violence on San Pedro's streets -- a move that is rare in this community. The planning was underway long before violence took a teenage boy was shot Wednesday about 5 p.m.

Miguel Osuna, 15, reportedly was shot as he stood on the porch of 600 block of Sixth Street about. Police told the Daily Breeze that the teenager was possibly killed from shots fired from a rifle at a car wash across the street. He died later at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

His death boosts the number of killings in San Pedro to 189 over the past two decades. Not only is he the 189 victim to die from violence, he becomes one of 24 children killed during that time period. This averages out to a rate of more than nine murders each year in this coastal community.

Many of those killing remain unsolved and were victims of gang violence.

"This is a long overdue memorial for those who have been killed in San Pedro," said Senior Lead Police Officer Joe Buscaino, a Los Angeles police officer born and raised here. "This is an opportunity for us to remember those who fell victim to violent crime. This a chance for the community to show that violence is not acceptable in this town."

Families who want their loved one honored at the rally can call officials to provide information and photos and are asked to attend the rally -- which was sparked by the unsolved October shooting death of the San Pedro High football and basketball player LaTerian Tasby.

Students across San Pedro High School believed a vigil was going to be held in LaTerian's honor text messaged each other furiously to go, according to one report, but officials -- out of respect from a family request -- agreed to wait and honor all victims of homicides in the community.

The football player -- who had moved to San Pedro to get away from violence in his former Los Angeles-area neighborhood -- became a popular figure at both the high school and the Boys and Girls Club with his turn around in grades, his talents at sports and his "if-I-can-do-it-you-can-do-it-too attitude."

He also spent time tending to younger youth's issues by listening to them. LaTerian was shot and killed on an October weekend last year after alleged gang members crashed a party filled with promising high school athletes, yelled out racial slurs -- according to some youths -- and started a ruckus which wound up in several other students being stabbed. Those youths survived.

Due to the enormity of LaTerian's death -- and the fact that the murder remains unsolved as do many other homicides in San Pedro -- the San Pedro Safety Collaborative agreed to hold a rally in hopes of bringing the community together against violence.

The collaborative includes police, school officials, non-profit organizations dealing with youths such as the YWCA, Toberman and the Boys and Girls Club, and business leaders.

Families that desire their loved ones to be honored and included in the rally should call Gabriela Medina at the YWCA at (310) 547-0831. Volunteers will be needed to help set up and break down the event. Please call Alice Castellanos, also of the YWCA at the same number.

All I ask -- please come. Show the kids we care. Show families who've lost loved ones that they are not alone in their grief.