Stabbing Death of Boy Linked to Rivalry Between Tagging Crews
VIDEO: Watch Jennifer Gould's Report
 12-year-old Juan Martinez stabbed to death in Anaheim |
The stabbing happened at 2:40 p.m. in front of an apartment complex in the 1500 block of E. La Palma Avenue, across from Sycamore Junior High School, according to police.
The victim, 12-year-old Juan Martinez, was a student at Sycamore.
He was taken to University of California, Irvine Medical Center, where he later died.
18-year-old Bryan Ocampo has been arrested in connection with the murder.
He was charged with one count of homicide and is being held without bail.
Martinez was the youngest of six children, according to his family.
His 17-year-old brother, Alex Martinez, said Juan hung out with a tagging crew called Sky's the Limit, or STL, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Alex said Ocampo was a member of a rival tagging crew called Downtown Anaheim, or DTA.
The Times also reports that, on Sunday afternoon, a Facebook user identifying himself as Ocampo wrote, "Theres a big scene at the end of my street,cops everywhere -__- what the hell happened?"
Someone commented that Juan Martinez was killed because he "dissed OTR and DTA," the Times says.
The user identified as Ocampo then posted, "Nah I never heard that…I didn’t even know who he was."
Friends, family and classmates have set up a makeshift memorial for Martinez with flowers and candles.
"We're really sad for him, because every day I would see him after second period, walking with all the kids," classmate Elsa Alvarez told KTLA. "I can't believe he's now gone."
"He's in heaven right now, so we don't have to worry," classmate and friend Mario Sanchez said. "Why did he deserve to die? He never did nothing bad."
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