The shooting rampage in Santa Monica on Friday claimed the lives of five victims and injured several others. Authorities shot and killed the gunman. Here are the stories of those who lost their lives.
Full Coverage: Rampage in Santa Monica
Carlos Franco, 68
“Carlos was truly a family man,” said Santa Monica College President Dr. Chui Tsang of the college's groundskeeper. “He was a dedicated husband and father and an integral part of the Santa Monica College family.” He worked hard and tried to make people happy, said his supervisor Tom Corpus. "Everything Carlos did was for the college and for his family." Carlos’ extended SMC family includes nephew Mario Franco, student Services Specialist Sandra Franco and Board of Trustee Member Margaret Quiñones-Pérez, Tsang said. The Santa Monica College Foundation has established a memorial fund honoring Carlos Franco. Donate to The Carlos Franco Family Memorial Fund or mail donations to: The Santa Monica College Foundation 1900 Pico Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90405.
Marcela Franco, 26
Marcela Franco, 26, was a senior at at California State University, Dominguez Hills, pursuing a degree in psychology, the university said. Franco had signed up for summer classes at Santa Monica College, and went with her father to the campus Friday to purchase textbooks. She was gravely wounded in the shooting, was taken off life support at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Sunday, her aunt Margaret Quinones-Perez said. "Marcela and Carlos were very close," Perez said. "She was a daddy's girl, so the blessing is they went together." She enrolled at the university in fall 2012 as a transfer student from West Los Angeles College. She was involved in the Campus Food Pantry Program, Welcome Week, and Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day. She also was a student member of the Campus Alcohol Awareness Coordinating Team, having become a certified trainer to help present workshops to students. In April she attended the CSU Alcohol and Other Drugs Conference and returned with new ideas to implement at CSU Dominguez Hills. She was a member of the campus chapter of the Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology and was looking forward to earning advanced degrees in the field to help individuals and her community.
Margarita Gomez, 68
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Margarita Gomez, a Santa Monica resident, was not a student, but was often seen on campus and was well-known to students, said Albert Vasquez, chief of the Santa Monica College Police Department. Gomez lived across the street from the school, friends said. She was collecting cans, as she often did on campus, when she was shot at the college's library entrance. She gave a portion of her earnings from recycling the cans to charity. “An SMC neighbor, Margarita was a familiar figure on campus, visiting frequently to collect and recycle discarded items,” said Santa Monica College President Chui L. Tsang. “Margarita was well-liked by the SMC groundskeepers, students, faculty, and staff that she interacted with, and who remember her as someone who was always happy,” Tsang said.
Christopher Zawahri, 24
Police said Chris Zawahri, 24, the older brother of the gunman, was in the Santa Monica house where the violence began. The gunman was a day shy of turning 24 when he went on the shooting spree, which makes the brother very close in age. A neighbor said that the brothers' parents split custody of their sons after going through a difficult divorce.
Samir Zawahri, 55
The father of the gunman, owned the Santa Monica house where the violence began in a neighborhood tucked up against Interstate 10. He moved there with his wife and two sons in 1996 from an apartment across town, according to property records and neighbors. He and Randa Abdou, 54, married on New Year's Eve 1985, but the couple split up later, though the date of their divorce was not immediately clear from public records. Samir Zawahri bought the house from his ex-wife in 2002. Neighbors said one son lived at the house with the father and one lived with the mother in an apartment about two miles away.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
