Countywide : Bearing Witness to Lives Cut Short

The parents of a man recently shot and killed took part in a vigil in his honor and in memory of 56 other people killed in violent attacks so far this year in Santa Ana.

Benny and Gloria Silva cried Wednesday night as two dozen community activists converged on the side lawn of a home in the 2000 block of West Saint Gertrude Place, where their son, Gary, 25, was slain.

Police said no suspects have been identified and no motive is known for the Sept. 24 slaying.

“He died all alone because nobody came to help even though witnesses said they heard all the gunshots,” Benny Silva said. “My son is in peace now. It’s too bad he had to reach it like this: senseless.”

The activists, who have been holding candlelight vigils for slaying victims in Santa Ana since January, said they do so to call attention to the problem of escalating violence and to spread the word that all human life is precious.

During the vigils, participants unfurl a 20-foot quilt that contains 40 squares--each square dedicated to a slaying victim. Participants also pray, sing and call out the names of the victims.

“Gary Silva,” said Amin David, chairman of the Latino advocacy group Los Amigos of Orange County, during the first of two vigils Wednesday night.

“Presente ,” the vigil participants responded.

They completed the roll call and staged another vigil in front of the 7-Eleven store on West McFadden Avenue where 22-year-old Jesse Kennedy’s body was found after he was shot several times in the chest Sunday.

“Each of us and the community has a responsibility to do whatever we can to contribute” to stopping violent crime, said John Martinez, a UC Irvine Chicano Studies professor.

“In some way, we have to change our lives and make it more meaningful to the young children,” David said. “We want our children to live dignified lives without fear. The violence must stop.”

Added Santos Chavez, of Victory Outreach ministry: “We can make a difference.”

Andy Rojas, 24, said he is a former gang member who tells youths of his experiences to try to persuade them to leave lives of crime.

He said he believes the vigils are helping to bring attention to the problem of violence.

The vigils now are spreading to other cities in the county, and anyone who wants to participate or sew a 19-inch-by-19-inch square for the quilt is welcome to do so.

The next vigil will be tonight at 6:30 at Aspan Street and Lake Forest Drive in Lake Forest in honor of Edward Flores, a 17-year-old who was shot to death after an argument with alleged gang members trying to crash a party he was attending.