Simone WilsonA 30-year-old Echo Park resident who worked at Trader Joe's in Silver Lake was allegedly gunned down by three Latino men in their 20s last Friday night.
Michael David, whose friends call him Mickey, was described by his mom to the Eastsider as a peace-loving “modern urban hippie guy” with dreadlocks — “just totally into purity.” He even had an organic garden and took yoga classes. Most tragically, the victim is survived by a 4-year-old daughter.
His friends Tweeted their shock yesterday:
The shooting occurred just after 12 a.m. on Sunset Boulevard at Logan Street, right near David's studio apartment in a bustling part of Echo Park. Police told City News Service that he was “apparently shot while running from his killer.”
Via the Eastsider:
David was not a gang member but police don't know what prompted the shooting or what he was doing outside at that time. Dect. John Motto said there is a possibility that he might have been with a group of people “but those people have not stepped forward.”He was a budding Rastafarian who had starting growing his hair long and braiding it, said Jeanne David, who raised Mickey and another son in Los Angeles before moving to another part of Southern California. … “He was a kind person.”
“Sidewalk memorial for Michael David”; Credit: The Eastsider
We hope, for the peace of mind of David's family, that those people will. And before y'all go blaming illegal Mexicans for his death, as we know you will, heed his mom's refreshing tolerance:
[David's mom] said she was troubled by the many reader comments about the ethnic and class tensions in Echo Park and wanted to let residents know her son was comfortable in the heavily Latino neighborhood. “He embraced the Latino culture. He has a Latino daughter.”
But the tense culture clash in Echo Park is undeniable: For the last few years, gangs have been pushed out by cutesy coffee shops and hipsters looking to “rough it” in the concrete jungle. But violent criminals still lash out sporadically. This gentrification in action was the subject of a super-polarizing, out-of-touch Los Angeles Times piece earlier this year, whose “LULzy” simplicity just proved how complex the co-habitation of two classes can be.
Coincidentally, another L.A. 30-year-old was murdered the same weekend as David, in an another community perceived to be relatively safe along the Wilshire corridor.
Anyone with additional information about David's murder is urged to call the LAPD's Rampart Station at (213) 484-3639 during weekday office hours, or (877) LAPD-24-7 anytime.
[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]
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