The Long Beach School District on Tuesday reached a historic settlement regarding the shooting of a young mother by a school security guard.
Mona Rodríguez, 18, was murdered in 2021 and this morning the family, who received 13 million dollars for this tragedy, held a press conference.
Lawyers for the family released video of the incident at the conference which showed what happened in September 2021 near Millikan High School.
School security guard Eddie González can be seen shooting at the car in which Mona Rodríguez was a passenger.
Rodríguez died a few days after the shooting.
The Long Beach School District fired Gonzalez soon after and was charged with his murder.
Lawyers for Rodríguez’s family argue that González was never properly trained or vetted by the school district and should never have been hired.
“They certainly failed in everything that was possible. They were honest,” said Arnoldo Casillas, a family lawyer.
The school issued a statement:
“The school district and its insurers have negotiated an agreement, but since we have not seen or ratified an agreement, we cannot discuss the details. Agreements like these include the language that there is no admission of liability by the district. However, we once again share our deepest condolences with all those affected by this terrible event.”
González, who was fired by LBUSD about a week after allegedly shooting “Mona” Rodríguez in the head on September 27 while sitting inside a moving car, was charged on October 27 with his murder.
González made his first court appearance two days after the incident and was ordered to remain in jail on $2 million bond.
Mona Rodríguez leaves behind a young son who was only five months old when she was murdered.
González has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.