The mother of a father of four children who was shot and killed at a Los Angeles gas station remembered the last conversation she had with her son when she spoke at a news conference Wednesday to ask for help in identifying his killer.
Melanie Gammage said her son, 32-year-old Marquette Scott, was shopping for Christmas gifts Dec. 3, 2023 when he stopped to buy gas in the Vermont Knolls area before driving back to Victorville. His mom was sick at home in the community in the high desert northeast of Los Angeles. Scott was visiting Southern California from Las Vegas after locating a hard-to-find special edition video game for one of his children at a Target in the South Los Angeles area.
"He called me. Said he was on his way back," Gammage said. "I waited up. I ended up going to sleep."
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A text after midnight went unanswered.
"I figured maybe he was on the freeway," Gammage said. "Then, I got a call at 7 in morning, saying he had passed away. He was shot and killed."
Scott was seated inside his SUV next to a fuel pump at the Sinclair station near Manchester Avenue and Hoover Street when someone in a white Jeep Compass pulled in front of his SUV. A masked person emerged from the SUV's rear seat and immediately fired rounds into the driver's side of Scott's vehicle.
A second shooter opened fire from the parking lot at the convenience store.
Scott died at the scene.
Crime scene photos showed the special edition Spider-man Sony Playstation 5 on the floor in the rear of Scott's SUV, which had his children's carseats inside. Gammage said the children usually went with him everywhere, but not that day.
The tragedy left the family in mourning days before Christmas.
"It was very devastating," Gammage said. "At my home every year, I have my children and all my grandchildren. We still celebrated, but it wasn't a happy one."
Gammage held up pictures of her son, some of them with his four children, at Wednesday's news conference with LAPD investigators. One of the pictures was a photo of a handmade drawing by his daughter. It shows some of the figures crying because they miss Scott, Gammage said.
"He never harmed anyone. He was a loving person. Very happy every day," Gammage said. "He had four beautiful children who wake up and cry every day before they go to school.
"I can't sleep at night. I can't eat. I just want justice for my child. That would be great."
A motive remains unclear in the shooting that authorities said appears to be random. Investigators are attempting to identify the shooters seen in security camera video from the gas station.
"There's someone out there who knows who committed this heinous act," said LAPD Capt. Jamie Bennett. "We need them to have the courage to come forward. As a community, we need to come together. Mr. Scott was merely out shopping for gifts for his kids, he needed fuel for his vehicle, and he was violently gunned down as he sat there getting gas in his car."
LAPD News: Reward Offered for Information on 2023 South Los Angeles Homicide pic.twitter.com/on5ZCeRsB7
— LAPD PIO (@LAPDPIO) August 21, 2024
A $50,000 reward is offered for information in the shooting investigation. In a social media post Wednesday, the LAPD provided information about the case and 90 seconds of gas station security camera video that captured the violent series of events Dec. 3, 2023.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to call South Bureau Homicide Division detectives at 323-786-5110. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org. Lastly, tipsters may also download the “P3 Tips” mobile application and select the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers as their local program.
