Vigil Held for Two Teens Whose Bodies Were Found in Park

A community came together Thursday to remember the lives of two teenagers whose bodies were discovered in a park in Montecito Heights last week.

As police continue to investigate what happened to the wo friends, two girls, neighbors held a procession and vigil.

Mourners gathered at the end of the trail at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park where the bodies of Gabriela Calzada, 19, and Briana Gallegos, 17, were discovered.

Many of them did not know them but said they came together to protest gender-based violence and build community to end the violence.

Police said they are working around the clock to find who killed the girls. Both suffered multiple trauma to their bodies, though police say they were not sexually assaulted. The coroner said Calzada suffered a gunshot to the head.

Police said the girls were friends and were in the park together. It does not seem like they were killed elsewhere and then left there nor that they were dead for a long time.

Teena Padilla knew Calzada from her time in a gang reduction and youth development group called Aztec Rising. She said Calzada came to them because they offered training for wildland firefighting, her dream job.

Padilla said hardest part is that "I won't get to hear her say, 'Miss, miss, how can I help?"

LAPD Captain Martin Baeza said officers are looking at a gang connection, incidents that have happened in the park, and acquaintances.

Organizations such as Eastside Mujeres Network are in contact with the families and have created a Facebook page for them.

Their families have not spoken publicly. But in the posts on fundraising sites Calzada is said to have "brightened up any room."

Briana's site asks for any information. She was reported missing on Oct. 28, the bodies found a day later.