BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Margarita Lopez was shot and killed on April 19 on Pearl St. The man arrested in connection to the shooting works for Panama Buena Vista Union School District and was placed on administrative leave.
- Video shows family of Margarita Lopez remembering her at her favorite bakery
- The Kern County Sheriff’s Office arrested Paul Magallanes in connection to the shooting on April 19th.
- Magallanes worked for the Panama-Buena Vista School District in the Alternative Education Program and said he’s been placed on administrative leave since his arrest.
A shooting here on Pearl Street killed 38-year-old Margarita Lopez.
Her family plans to hold her memorial service on Wednesday and they want to see justice as they put her to rest.
She had a sweet tooth and a sweetheart.
That’s what loved ones remember about Margarita or "Maggy" Lopez.
“We would always see her walking on her Snapchat, and I’m like oh, she’s exercising. Nope, she was coming to his bakery,” Deysey Guerra, Lopez's sister-in-law said.
Her sisters Sandy Camarena and Frances Bocanegra and Guerra sat at her favorite local bakery and shared pastries in her memory as they prepared for her memorial on Wednesday.
“A lot of people described her as a sweet kind person,” Bocanegra said.
Camarena says she was with Lopez at the time of the incident when they went to pick up Lopez’s husband and kids from her brother-in-law’s house.
“As soon as they left, Paul came down, yelling at my sister down the steps into the street and said ‘You wetback. You B****,’ started calling her all kinds of racist names,” she recalled.
She claims Paul Magallanes, Lopez’s brother-in-law was upset she was leaving with the kids.
“He shot the gun while there was a 12-year-old in the street,” she said.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office arrested Paul Magallanes in connection to the shooting on April 19th.
Camarena tells me Magallanes shot at them twice.
“When I ran to her, I just dropped to the ground and put her in my lap," Camarena remembered. "When I put her in my lap, I just held her and I tried to stop the bleeding, but there was only so much I could do.”
According to a release from the Panama Buena Vista Union School District, Magallanes works in the Alternative Education Program and said he’s been placed on administrative leave since his arrest.
Chantel Stansberry with the district released a statement, saying “We understand the shock and concern this news may bring to our school community. Allegations of this nature are disturbing and do not reflect the high professional standards of our programs or the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District.”
Stansberry adds the safety of students is among the district’s highest priorities
Guerra says a gun should have never been involved in a family dispute.
“She didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve to die,” Guerra said.
I reached out to Magallanes’ attorney H.A. Sala for comment on the investigation but his office declined to comment at this time.
“She deserves justice because she’s not just some random person," Bocanegra said. "She was somebody’s mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend.”
So far no charges have been filed against Magallanes.
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