SAN DIEGO — The search continues for two men wanted in connection with a fatal shooting that took place Sunday morning in broad daylight at the North Clairemont Recreation Center.
The park was filled with kids when a 22-year-old man was shot several times. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
As the investigation continues, community members are coming together to try to reclaim the park for local families.
This fatal shooting took place just before 12 p.m. Sunday, as a youth basketball game was underway and the park was packed with families, including the Nunez family, who saw the tragedy as it unfolded.
"I thought they were going to shoot me," said six-year-old Julian Nunez, who was at the park with his dad Manny on Sunday.
Manny said that he witnessed the deadly shooting.
"A guy got a gun out and just shot the other guy in the chest three or four times," he told CBS 8. "And the people started running that way... because there was a lot of people here!"
Manny Nunez added that, previous to this incident, he felt fine letting his kids come to this park alone.
He said that now he will always accompany them, something his older son Sebastian wants, in the wake of Sunday's violence.
"There can be bad people here and I don't feel that safe coming here by myself after what happened," Sebastian said.
According to friends of the victim, his name was Cesar Lopez. He made a name for himself as a rapper who went by the stage name Alo Bandz.
While a memorial to him continues to grow, others are coming together in an effort to reclaim this space for the entire community.
"This shooting doesn't belong in this neighborhood: we are here to take back our parks!," said Clairemont resident Michael Pallamary. A father and grandfather, he would like to see extra security measures taken at the grassroots level, like installing web cameras.
"I just want to make this place safe for kids," he added. "That's my only goal, make it safe for children. I have heard from so many people that they won't bring their kids up here now," he said.
"Usually it's a buzzing family-fun park. It's sad," said dad and youth soccer coach William Solis, who added that -- ordinarily -- this park would be packed on a Monday afternoon.
He admitted he briefly considered changing the practice venue after Sunday's shooting. "But I always think it's best to get back to normalcy as soon as possible," he told CBS 8.
Restoring 'normalcy' there, though, may require some time.
"We need to protect the community," Pallamary added."This is our park and we work too hard. Clairemont is a good neighborhood, and we want to keep it that way."
A "Take Back Our Park" rally is set to be held at the North Clairemont Recreation Center this Saturday, Feb. 25, at noon. The entire community is invited to take part.
WATCH RELATED: One man killed at North Clairemont Recreation Center, police search for two suspects (Feb. 2023).