A night out on a party bus should be the kind of thing that makes for gleeful memories shared among friends years later. Unfortunately for a Compton, California family, what should have been a fun night is something that they’ll mourn for years and years to come. A California mother, who’d birthed a micro-preemie daughter and watched her blossom into a healthy 2-year-old is now dead, and Santa Monica police are looking for her killer.
The victim, De’Ommie De La Cruz, 28, of Compton, was shot dead early Saturday morning after a dispute broke out between passengers of two buses parked along Ocean Avenue near Colorado Avenue, according to authorities.
Two or three men fired guns into De La Cruz’s bus and then fled, Santa Monica police said. Three other passengers were injured.
The two groups were not traveling together, but some passengers may have known each other, said Lt. Saul Rodriguez.
“I did hear that maybe one of the parties may have recognized them from a previous encounter,” Rodriguez said. “Like they’ve known each other from some prior run-in possibly.”
De La Cruz’s mother wrote on a gofundme page seeking “assistance both emotional and financial” that her daughter left behind a 2-year-old.
“I have heard many times that bullets have no names and that tomorrow is never promised but never has this been more real to me than today,” wrote Tomiekia Falconer-De La Cruz.
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Det. Leone at (310) 458-8949, Det. Cooper at (310) 458-8478, or the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8495.
PHOTOS: De La Cruz family
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