KESQ.com News Services
LONG BEACH - While most young people were celebrating Halloween Saturday night, classmates of a 16-year-old honors student fatally shot outside a high school football game in Long Beach were in mourning.
Melody Ross had attended Friday night's homecoming game at Wilson High School dressed in a Supergirl costume and was described by police as "an innocent bystander who was not involved" in the dispute that triggered shootings following the game.
Ross and two men, ages 18 and 20, were shot about 10 p.m. Friday on Ximeno Avenue, next to the high school's stadium, after the game. The young men are expected to survive, but Ross died at a hospital from a gunshot wound to her side, police said.
"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.
No arrests have been made in the case and police could not say if it was a gang-related shooting.
Ross was a junior at Wilson, where she was on the track team and was an honors student enrolled in advanced placement classes, according to Long Beach Unified School District officials, who said they had extra security at the game against cross-town rival Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
While others were out trick-or-treating, family members and friends gathered at the school campus, where they made a makeshift memorial of balloons, votive candles and flowers.
"She was supportive of everybody and had spirit for everything in dance shows and football and everything," a friend named Carly told KCAL9.
"It's so sad to see her gone so quickly because she didn't deserve it at all," friend Lauren told KCAL9. "She just was never sad. She always had that same smile on her face. You could be down on your worst day and you could just talk to her and she'd be able to bring you up so high," said Lauren.
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.
Long Beach City Councilman Gary DeLong said the two other gunshot victims were not students at either Wilson or Poly.
"It's a horrific event, and my heart goes out to the families," DeLong said.
Police asked anyone who took photos or video at the game to contact detectives Scott Lasch or Malcolm Evans at (562) 570-7244.