Shooters Tied to the Killing of 12-Year-Old Child in December 2021 — Captured

On Sept. 30, the Los Angeles Police Department announced the arrest of two individuals involved in the Dec. 6, 2021 shooting death of a 12-year-old Wilmington resident, Alexander Alvarado. 

Damian Ulysses Martinez, 21, and Gabriel Martinez,19, were taken into custody separately on Sept. 27, with the help of the Department of Homeland security.  

According to the reporting at the time, Alvarado and his mother were sitting in a car when Damian and Gabriel Martinez approached their car and started shooting. Alvarado’s mother was also injured.

That same evening it was reported that a fourth-grader at Wilmington Park Elementary School was hit by a stray bullet and sent to the hospital. LAPD later confirmed that the two shootings were related. The fourth -grader survived.

Two days after the shooting, the Los Angeles Police Protective League offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooters involved in the Dec. 6, 2021 killing of 12-year-old Wilmington resident, Alexander Alvarado.

Craig Lally, President of the LA Police Protective League said the shooting was more than a cold-blooded murder of a child and the shooting of his mother and an innocent young girl playing at an elementary school,”  in a released statement. He called it an attack on the sense of safety of all Angelenos.

“It rips at the very fabric of our society. We are offering this reward for information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of whoever is responsible for this cowardly act.”

Gabriel and Damian Martinez were arrested on Sept. 27 and are being held on $2 million bail.  Their arraignment hearing is on Oct. 20, 2022. They are being charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon each. 

Damian was already charged with carrying a loaded firearm in April last year. He pleaded No Contest. In November of last year, he pleaded no contest to making criminal threats.  Gabriel was convicted of carrying a loaded firearm and driving a person’s car without permission in June 2022.