A group of demonstrators, many of whom have lost loved ones to violence, met in San Pedro Sunday alongside the candidate running to unseat Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, to protest what they believe has been a lack of focus by the current administration to bring justice to parents and families of victims who have been murdered.
Uloma Anyanwu, a nurse, was among dozens of people who turned out for the event, some of them carrying photographs and posters of their loved ones who were killed as they spoke out against the DA.
Anyanwu told KTLA that she lost her son in March 2022.
“He went to pick up his girlfriend from an establishment where she worked and, unfortunately, a predator just came to his car and shot him dead,” she said.
According to Anyanwu, the suspect had three priors and was on probation when the violence occurred and has yet to be arrested.
“Every day I get up and live my pain,” she said.
Nathan Hochman, former United States Assistant Attorney General and Mr. Gascón’s competitor for L.A. County District Attorney, was present at the event. Flanked by many of those in attendance, Hochman took the photo opportunity and a swipe at the DA.
“Our current DA, Gascón, has basically sent a message to these victims that they are not his focus. He is not here today,” Hochman told KTLA. “I am here today to send the clear and unmistakable message that these victims, who have suffered the tragedy of having their children murdered, will be the focus of my administration.”
Asked whether the district attorney had a response to Hochman’s statement, Gascón’s campaign manager told KTLA that they had no comment.
The DA last week made several high-profile announcements, including charges against a convicted felon accused of breaking into the official home of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, as well as charges against a man that allegedly shot a uniformed L.A. County deputy in the back and murder charges against a 45-year-old homeless man believed to have fatally stabbed a 67-year-old woman in the throat on a Metro train.
With a little more than six months until the Nov. 5 election, the DA’s office was also hit last week with news that one of its top advisors to Gascón, Ethics and Integrity Assistant DA Diana Teran, has been charged by the state attorney general’s office with 11 felony violations.