Melissa Ortega "was a girl full of hope and had her whole life ahead of her," her family said. "She sought to achieve the American Dream but was instead given American Violence."
"We’ve turned up the heat on gangs in the city and we will continue to do that," Supt. Brown said. "But this special focus is purposeful because an 8-year-old … is senselessly killed in our city. So I think it’s quite appropriate that we raise the level of resources, our sense of urgency to send an even stronger message to gangs."