‘Shining Star’ at School Dies as Father’s Rage Erupts in Gunfire

Fourth-grader German Garcia, described by his school principal as “one of our shining stars,” died Tuesday night on the floor of a bedroom his mother had decorated with his awards for good schoolwork and citizenship, Los Angeles police said.

His father shot him on an evening that began well, with a family gathering and a long-planned father and son outing, said Detective Mike Coffey. And, according to the boy’s teacher, German himself undoubtedly was looking forward to school Wednesday because he was to receive a special treat--a McDonald’s lunch--for being the first in his class to memorize his multiplication tables.

But family violence snuffed out the life of this well-behaved, studious 9-year-old.

According to police, the outburst began when Miguel Garcia Manzo, 31, flew into a rage after his former wife refused to reconcile with him. Vowing that “we’re all going to die together,” Manzo shot Maria Chavez de Garcia, 30, and their two sons with a semiautomatic pistol before turning the gun on himself, police said.

Manzo died in the bedroom of his former wife’s Whitsett Avenue apartment, with his two bloodied sons lying beside him.

On Wednesday, German was dead; Manzo’s firstborn son and namesake--11-year old Miguel Garcia Jr.--was clinging to life at Holy Cross Medical Center, and Maria Garcia was in stable condition with gunshot wounds in her face and back.