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Granddaughter of LAPD chief
and Redondo High grad killed
by Jason Dietrich
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Lori Gonzalez in 1997 as a senior at Redondo Union High School. |
Former Redondo resident and granddaughter of Los Angeles Police Department Chief Bernard C. Parks was killed Sunday, outside a Popeye's Chicken Restaurant in Los Angeles.
Lori Gonzalez was shot several times as she and an acquaintance were pulling out of the restaurant's parking lot on La Brea Avenue, a mile south of the Santa Monica, I-10, freeway. The 1997 Redondo Union High School graduate was planning on celebrating her 21st birthday next week.
Police say she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. They said they did not believe that the crime was tied to her relation to Parks.
Her teachers at Redondo High remembered her as a lively girl with a great deal of promise.
"She had a lot of spark. She was so pretty and poised, she seemed like she was really going to do great things," said Redondo Union teacher Wendy Bouret, who taught Gonzalez in senior English.
Police said the shooting occurred at about 10:15 p.m. Sunday night. A gunman approached Gonzalez's car as she and a male acquaintance were leaving the parking lot of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits. The gunman fired through the passenger window. Gonzalez's acquaintance ducked and the shots hit Gonzalez, killing her.
Police suspect the shooter was aiming for Gonzalez's passenger who was unharmed in the incident. Police did not identify him, but said he had prior run-ins with the law.
Gonzalez lived with her father in Mission Viejo while attending Saddleback College. She also worked as a beautician. During the four years she lived in Redondo Beach she lived with her mother, said Redondo Beach School District Spokesman Jerry Klein.
"She was a real cutie with a twinkle in her eye. A real high-energy person. I had her twice, once in a parenting and child-care class and once in a foods class," said Kris Moon, a teacher at Redondo Union High School.
"She was a real people's person. She'd draw people in to the group and kind of help them along. She was also the kind of person that if I made a mistake, she'd be the first to correct me. She was very quick witted," Moon said.
Funeral services are planned for later this week. ER