Hundreds Remember the Life of Melody Ross
Community mourns as Melody Ross is laid to rest
Melody Ross, the honors student from Wilson High School who was caught in the crossfire of two rival gangs, was laid to rest this morning at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.
The 16-year-old's death, after the homecoming football game, has initiated an outpouring of sympathy from classmates, community members and many strangers throughout the country. Facebook pages were launched, memorials constructed and messages sent to family members and friends, all to remember and honor the popular track star.
In an article by the Los Angeles Times, Ross was remembered the following way:
The "Supergirl" Halloween costume that 16-year-old Melody Ross wore to the Wilson High School football game was befitting of her promising resume: honors student, pole vaulter and athlete, positive attitude, aspirations to attend UCLA.
Those were the attributes that Ross' friends and family recalled Saturday as they gathered near the stadium gates at the Long Beach campus. They placed flowers and votive candles at the spot where she was fatally shot Friday night as she and her friends were leaving the Wilson homecoming game against Polytechnic High School.
Police arrested two 16-year-olds, Tom Vinson and Daivion Davis, and charged each with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder, according to the district attorney's office. The LA County prosecutor said his office decided to charge both of the accused as adults because of the severity of the crime. Both Vinson and Davis have also been identified as gang members by the LA County prosecutor's office.
The funeral and burial services were open to the public.
