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# Coroner: Victims shot multiple times
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/coroner-victims-shot-multiple-times/
- Published: 2005-03-09T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T06:12:24.000Z
- Author: John Wood
- Tags: local, Sunset Park, #archive-import

*Funeral arrangements are still being planned*

Initial coroner reports released Tuesday indicate that both Santa Monica men killed during a crowded weekend birthday party were struck by multiple bullets.

Hector Bonilla, 25, was shot multiple times in his torso and head, while Jonathan Hernandez, 19, suffered more extensive wounds to his torso, head and buttocks, according to David Camp-bell, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

The exact number of bullets each of the victims were hit by will not be known until after autopsies are completed and released to the public. One autopsy was performed Tuesday and the second was scheduled for this morning, Campbell said.

Guests at the Sunset Park birthday party said as many as 14 shots were fired by two or three gang members who opened fire on Hernandez, and later pointed their barrels at Bonilla, a long-time friend of Hernandez’ who attempted to intervene.

A third victim threw a chair at the gunmen and suffered a gunshot to the leg, but was not killed, according to eyewitnesses. The incident took place in front of 50 to 70 people inside the Moose Lodge, a rented venue at Ocean Park Boulevard and 16th Street.

The gunmen have not been caught.

Police on Tuesday said the investigation into the double homicide was ongoing, but declined to say whether the incident was gang related. Campbell said the initial coroner reports referred to the gun-men and the victims as belonging to rival gangs. Still, no weapons were found on Hernandez or Bonilla.

Bonilla had three young children. Hernandez, a recent high school graduate, hoped to become a psychologist for kids with disabilities.

“These young men did not have a gun. They weren’t drawing on anybody. They weren’t shooting anybody when they were killed,” said Oscar de la Torre, head of the Pico Youth & Family Center, a Santa Monica nonprofit group dedicated to at-risk youths.

Asked if the victims belonged to a gang, de la Torre declined to comment, but offered an analogy. He said if someone had told him they were an alcoholic and went to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and had stayed sober, but then was involved in a car accident, it would be wrong for him to come out and say publicly that the person was a recovering alcoholic.

“For anybody to say they were gang members or former gang members, that’s not important right now,” de la Torre added. “That’s trivializing.”

More important, de la Torre said, will be to support the victims’ families. Bonilla left behind many friends and relatives, including his long-time girlfriend Krizna Ayala and their children: Hector Jr., 7; Benjamin, 2; and Eli, 1\. Hernandez is survived by a grieving mother, Natalie Preciado, and three half-siblings, one of whom is autistic and relied on Hernandez daily for help.

Stemming gang violence, de la Torre said, will require not just imprisoning gang members but offering early intervention and ongoing support for youths.

“We try to understand why young people are involved in a lifestyle,” de la Torre said. “Gang culture is a way to survive. We need to think about that as a community... Bottom line is it’s about hope. Once you lose hope, you can be violent. When you have hope and you believe in your future, you’re less likely to be violent, period — gang member or not gang member.”

> “Bottom line is it’s about hope.” — OSCAR DE LA TORRE Head of Pico youth center

City officials announced Tuesday the second of two workshops aimed at ending gang violence in Santa Monica would be postponed until April 9 out of respect to the victims’ families. The meeting, co-hosted by City Hall and State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, will be held at John Adams Middle School, directly across the street from where the homicides took place.

Funeral plans for the two men had not been finalized. The Pico Neighborhood Association, a neighborhood group, has set up a fund to help raise money for the burials. A group spokesperson asked that checks be made out to the PNA, with “Victims of Violence” noted in the memo section, and sent to 1705 Pico Blvd., No. 125, Santa Monica, CA., 90404.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 9, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/030905.pdf?ref=smdp.com)