Fresno artist paints mural to memorialize victims of gun violence

Nearly 100 family members and friends of the victims came together to watch.

Jessica Harrington Image
Monday, April 26, 2021
Fresno artist paints mural to memorialize victims of gun violence
On Friday night, Omar 'Super' Huerta worked to transform a blank canvas into a work of art.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- On Friday night, Omar 'Super' Huerta worked to transform a blank canvas into a work of art, honoring people who were shot and killed in separate incidents in Fresno.

Nearly 100 family members and friends of the victims came together to watch.

The pain is still fresh with 45-year-old Anthony Romero's daughter and mother.

He was killed at his apartment last June.

RELATED: Fresno police searching for person of interest in northeast Fresno homicide case

Police are still looking for a person of interest caught on video.

"My father didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve that at all," says his daughter Melissa Ayala.

Family and friends watched closely as the muralist painted Breanna Gomez's portrait.

RELATED: Teenager shot and killed in northeast Fresno, another injured

The 14-year-old was shot and killed in January. No arrests have been made in her case.

Family members say she was happy and full of fun.

They're grateful she'll now be remembered in a public way.

"It means a lot you know - people could see her and know that she's a beautiful young teenager girl who didn't get to live her life to the fullest," says her friend Alvia Moreno.

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Huerta, the artist, says this is his way to give back to his community.

"This becomes a place for them to come out and still mourn or at least bring a little bit of peace for them to come out and visit the mural," he says.

Loved ones say they hope when people see these murals they'll think of two things - that their lives were taken too soon and that their cases are still unsolved.

"We want justice," says Melissa Ayala.