The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $25,000 reward to help catch the person responsible in the killing of a Long Beach infant.
Supervisor Don Knabe tweeted late Monday that he would introduce a motion to offer a $25,000 reward — up from the initial expected amount of $10,000 — for information leading to an arrest and conviction of whoever killed Eliza Delacruz.
Knabe called Delacruz’s death a “heinous crime.”
The 3-week-old girl’s body was discovered in a dumpster in San Diego County on Sunday, one day after she was kidnapped from a home in Long Beach where her parents and uncle had also been shot and wounded.
“To take a precious child from home, throw her in a dumpster like a piece of trash is something only a very heartless person would do,” Long Beach police Chief Robert Luna said at a Monday afternoon news conference.
Detectives have few leads in the case and need help from the public, Luna said. The reward is intended to “prompt reluctant witnesses to come forward,” a new release from the Board of Supervisors stated.
Police believe those in the densely populated area of the shooting — which occurred just before 6 p.m. Saturday in the 100 block of West 51st Street — may have witnessed something, or have knowledge they have not shared. Tips can be submitted anonymously, police stressed.
Since the shooting, the baby’s father has been released from the hospital, while Eliza’s mother and uncle were last reported to be in stable condition.
Investigators believed that the family had been deliberately targeted, but a motive for the crime remained unknown.
During the Monday news conference, Luna pleaded for any witnesses or anyone who saw anything unusual near the scene of the shootings to step forward.
“We need to get the coward who committed this violent, senseless act off the street, but we absolutely need the public’s help to do this,” he said.
Authorities offered a limited description of the man they were looking for, describing him only as a male with dark skin, possibly Hispanic or African-American.
As the investigation continued and more information was obtained, homicide detectives were hoping to work with a sketch artist to produce an image of the wanted man.
Anyone with information about the case was urged to call Long Beach homicide Detectives Donald Goodman and Mark Mattia at 562-570-7244.
Those wishing to provide tips anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers by calling 800-222-8477, texting “TIPLA” plus a tip to 274637, or visiting the website LACrimeStoppers.org.
KTLA’s Melissa Pamer contributed to this article.