Police Seeking Public's Help In Long Beach Double Homicide, Spurred By Parking Dispute, That Claimed Lives Of Husband And Wife
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) - Grieving family members, friends and neighbors have added flowers and candles to a growing, makeshift memorial in a Long Beach neighborhood where a husband and wife were shot and killed by an unknown suspect Saturday night over what's been described as a dispute over parking.
Police identified the victims in the double homicide as Juan Guizar-Gutierrez, 39, and Maricela Honorato, 44, a husband and wife. So far, there's been no description of the shooting suspect, who remains on the loose.
"It's senseless. It's ridiculous," said the victims' neighbor Dani Carter. "It didn't need to happen."
For Maria Honorato, the tragic loss of her sister and brother-in-law is really starting to sink in.
"We are broken, we are broken. I still can't believe my sister is gone. It's unreal. It feel like a nightmare," she said.
The family says that Guizar-Gutierrez and Honorato had just returned from a fishing trip with another family member and were trying to find parking in the often crowded neighborhood streets, when someone behind them started honking and an argument ensued.
"I've seen arguments happen a lot," Carter said. "The parking is limited here, but for an argument to escalate to that, there's no need for it."
Long Beach Police said they received an initial call about a fight just before 8 p.m., but add that it's unclear if the shootings were related to that particular argument.
Loved ones say that Guizar-Gutierrez went back outside to look for his keys, which he'd dropped. That's when he was shot and killed. Honorato then ran outside and was also shot. She was rushed to the hospital where she later died.
"We haven't been able to sleep, eat. We are drained," the victim's sister said.
One of the couples three daughters was home at the time of the shooting and heard the gunshots. She went outside, saw her stepfather on the ground and then ran to check on her mother.
"I tried talking to her and telling her to hold on and that I loved her," Tania, Honorato's daughter, said.
Authorities are asking for the public's in locating the shooting suspect. There was a party at the nearby Bembridge House, which people rent out for events, but it's not known if the shooter was an attendee there.
A GoFundMe Campaign for Honorato and Guizar-Gutierrez has been started by the family.
