EL MONTE, Calif.—More than a thousand community members, law enforcement officers, and family members gathered outside the El Monte Civic Center on the evening of June 18, in honor of two El Monte police officers killed in a motel shooting last week.
The candlelight vigil was filled with piles of flowers, candles, and American flags around two officers’ framed photos. The El Monte Police Department told The Epoch Times around 1,300 to 1,500 people attended the vigil.
Officer Joseph Santana, 31, and Cpl. Michael Paredes, 42, were killed in the afternoon of June 14 during a gunfight at the Siesta Inn in El Monte when they were responding to a report of a stabbing….