A total of three suspects have been arrested in connection to the murder of a man who was left dead inside a burned-out car in San Diego’s East County.

Miles B. Sharp, 21, was arrested and now faces a murder charge in the death of Dillon Davis, 20, of 4S Ranch, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Davis was found dead inside the trunk of the car along Skyline Truck Trail east of Jamul around 4:30 a.m. on September 20, 2012.

The driver of a passing vehicle called 911 after seeing a car on fire. As they were fighting the flames, firefighters discovered a man's body in the trunk of the four-door sedan parked in front of a home.

The victim was so badly burned that investigators couldn't even determine a gender at first.

Sharp was a person of interest from very early on in the investigation according to San Diego Sheriff’s Department Lt. Glenn Giannantonio.

Homicide investigators followed leads from evidence found at the scene as well as tips provided by residents who saw the case in the news.

While he couldn’t go into detail about the nature of their relationship, Giannantonio said Davis and Sharp knew each other prior to the murder.

Sharp was in custody in Humboldt County when he was transported to San Diego. He has been booked into the George Bailey Detention Facility on murder and arson charges. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 11.

But investigators say he’s not the only suspect involved in this murder case.

On Friday, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department announced that two additional suspects had been arrested in connection with Davis’ murder.

Quincy Sharp, 20, was arrested Friday as an accessory to murder in the Davis’ case. Quincy is brothers with the first suspect identified in this case, Miles Sharp.

Quincy was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on $50,000 bail. He’s scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

A third suspect, Devin Gaillard, 21, has also been arrested in this case and is now facing a murder charge. He’s being held at San Diego Central Jail.

The investigation on this case is ongoing. Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Homicide Detail unit at (858) 974-2321 or (858) 565-5200., or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

A 46-year-old female pedestrian was struck and killed by a car in Lincoln Park Friday night, police confirmed.

The fatal collision happened in the 1200 block of South 47th Street at around 6:15 p.m.

Police said a woman walked into the street from between two parked cars, right into the path of a 2002 GMC van traveling northbound.

The man driving the van struck the woman and she died at the scene.

Investigators said alcohol was not a factor in the accident. The driver remained at the scene for questioning.

Police temporarily shut down traffic between Logan and Solola Avenues following the fatal incident.
The victim’s name has not yet been released.
 

An estimated 22,000 gallons of sewage spilled near the Carlsbad State Beach Campground Friday morning, County of San Diego officials said.

The sewage spill was the result of a ruptured sewage force main located in the 6500 block of Ponto Drive.

County officials say the rupture caused the release of untreated sewage to spill into the area at around 5:35 a.m.

The spill lasted 20 minutes, ending around 5:55 a.m., when crews from Leucadia Waste Water District were able to shut off the force main pump.

Officials say all 22,000 gallons of sewage flowed into an adjacent storm drain. Crews recovered around 3,100 gallons of it.

The storm drain runs north, parallel to the train tracks for about one mile, before discharging into a marsh and then the ocean.

The drain outfall is located approximately 1,500 feet north of the Carlsbad State Beach Campground.

Officials posted signs warning of sewage contamination around the storm drain. A water contact closure was issued for Carlsbad State Beach from 1,000 to 2,000 feet north of the Campground.

The signs will remain posted until samples can confirm that the water in the area is safe again for recreational use. Until then, locals are urged to stay out of the water.

For more updates on beach closure information, visit this website or call (619) 338-2073.
 

More than 5,000 jobs may be at stake in San Diego, and it's all because of Navy-wide budget cuts that will hit here.

Now leaders in the defense industry are speaking out about how this directly translates to our local economy.

Congress still hasn't passed a Defense Appropriations Bill for this year, leaving the Navy to operate on last year’s numbers. Now the Navy's dealing with a more than a $4 billion shortfall in its operations budget by cancelling ship and aircraft maintenance, and reducing operations, among other belt-tightening strategies.

Larry Blumberg is Executive Director of the San Diego Military Advisory Council.

He projects more than 5,000 jobs will be lost in San Diego, most likely in the in the ship repair industry, nearly half of the workforce.

“That person is an experienced welder, or an experienced ship fitter, or an experienced electronics person, and he decides he's going to go and be a bank teller or something else, we don't get that skill set back", said Blumberg.

Beyond jobs, Blumberg says the local economy will take a beating.

"When you take $219 million out of the economy by the cancellation of ship availability, that doesn't go into San Diego's economy,” he explained.

Gil Field spent more than 30 years as a Navy contracts officer.

He says the military is grossly overfunded.

“Why do we need to spend as much as the rest of the world spends on defense when we have 5% of the people?” said Field.

Still, he says cuts should be planned and orderly, and on that, Blumberg agrees.

Blumberg says it's about more than just jobs and readiness -- it's about keeping faith with those who serve.

"When you start cancelling maintenance, and you start cancelling training, and you start cancelling flight hours, and steaming hours for ships -- you know what you're doing? If those ships have to deploy, you're putting those people out there not adequately trained,” said Blumberg.

He says that there is still time to prevent job losses though; that legislators in Washington need to pass a Defense Appropriations Bill, or at least start talking about it.
 

A man driving a stolen car led police on a short pursuit in the East County Friday, authorities said.

It all began just before 6:30 p.m. when a police officer spotted a stolen vehicle getting onto eastbound Interstate 8 from Baltimore Drive in La Mesa.

The officer followed the car and attempted to pull over the driver as the vehicle exited I-8 onto North Mollison Avenue in El Cajon.

Instead, the driver – later identified by police as James Knight, 23 -- failed to yield and ran several red lights.

Police officers, along with help from the SDPD’s helicopter ABLE and CHP officers, pursued the car until Knight turned into a gated apartment complex on North Mollison Avenue.

Knight crashed into the complex gate before coming to a stop.

Police say Knight then got out of the car and attempted to flee on foot. Police caught him after a short foot pursuit.

He was arrested and booked into jail. Police say the suspect had an outstanding arrest warrant as well are is facing charges of vehicle theft, felony evading and transportation of a controlled substance.
 

"Nurturing. Healing. Love."

Scarlett Lewis noticed the chalk-written message on her kitchen chalkboard when returning home for the first time – days after her son Jesse was taken from her on December 14th.  “It was in 6-year-old handwriting. Right about where he’d be standing,” says Lewis from her Sandy Hook farmhouse.  “It’s phonetically spelled. It's very clear what it says. I was stunned.”

Lewis described her son as an “energetic, happy boy” whose personality could dominate a room. This type of message, however, was out of the ordinary for him but feels it was left for when she and her oldest son, J.T.  would need it most.

“He isn’t the type of boy who would write that. He was loving and sweet and kind but that was a prophetic statement. I felt like it came from his spirit.”

It was this same message that the single mom sent while eulogizing her son.  “I said ‘I have something for you to do for us. That’s to consciously change an angry thought into a loving one’ because it is a choice.”

It’s now the mission of the newly formed Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation. Scarlet hopes it grows from the chalkboard to the pulpit to – one day – your child’s classroom. She is meeting with professional educators to create a school curriculum that will be taught nationwide.

“This will be taught right along Math, Reading and Writing. It will be a life management course.”
Lewis was the first family member to speak at Wednesday’s Legislative Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety hearing held in Newtown. She says she is not looking to get involved in the political debate that has followed the shootings. Rather,  she will focus on a message that can be supported on all sides of the discussion.

“I feel like he wrote that message for a reason and handed me a torch. I’m gonna take it and hopefully – with everyone's help – change the world so this will never happen again.”

The judge who issued a tentative ruling that the City of San Diego and The Plaza de Panama Committee violated municipal code for a Balboa Park Project said he needs time to think about his decision.

The controversial project includes construction of a bypass road off the Cabrillo Bridge and an 800-space underground paid parking lot in the large public park in the heart of San Diego. The idea is to rid the plaza of dozens of parking spaces and all the traffic that passes through it, to free it up for pedestrians.

READ: A Timeline of Plaza de Panama

Judge Timothy Taylor released a tentative ruling last week that favored the Save Our Heritage Foundation. Their legal challenge said the plan is environmentally destructive, and violates not only city regulations, but standards set by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior and National Parks Service, which has threatened to re-consider the park's designation as a historic landmark.

Taylor’s ruling agreed that the Plaza de Panama Committee wasn’t accurate in describing the area of the park as having "no reasonable beneficial” – a requirement for the permit. The ruling even suggests that the loss of the funds already raised by the committee would be a “sad day for San Diego.”

The hope is to get Plaza de Panama done in time for the grand opening on the Centennial celebration of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

Taylor said in court on Friday that in light of the public interest, this decision is something he needs to ponder. He said it could take a couple hours or days, and will alert people of his decision as soon as he can.

Attorneys from the two sides declined comment until after the judge's ruling is issued.

Steve Hodel cannot let go.

And so he returned to a distinctive Hollywood mansion with another retired cop, Paul Dostie, and Dostie's search dog, Buster. Hodel had a mission for them.

In his book "Black Dahlia Avenger," the longtime LAPD detective and best-selling author convinced many skeptics that he had solved the gruesome 1947 murder that perhaps became LA's most notorious cold case.

The body of Elizabeth Short, 22, had been severed in two with surgical skill and technique, leading investigators to conclude early on that the killer likely had medical school training.

That killer, Steve Hodel ultimately concluded, was his late father, George Hodel, MD.

What's more, because there was no trace of blood in the empty Leimert Park lot where the remains were found, detectives realized she must have been killed elsewhere.

That elsewhere, Hodel concluded, was the landmark Hollywood mansion where Dr. Hodel made his home, the distinctive "Sowden House" designed on a Mayan theme by famed second-generation architect Lloyd Wright.

Steve Hodel lived there as a child. As he looked into the case, he was able to determine from records that he and his siblings were away with their mother at the time of the Black Dahlia murder.

Hodel marshaled considerable evidence, which was later corroborated after "Black Dahlia Avenger" was published, when the District Attorney Steve Cooley agreed to reopen decades-old case files.

Right at the top was a picture of Dr. Hodel; it turns out he had been the principal suspect. Investigators had even planted a bug in the house to listen for incriminating admissions. But before authorities brought charges, Dr. Hodel abruptly abandoned his family and relocated to Asia.

The likes of Steve Kay, then a head Deputy DA, concluded that Steve Hodel had made the case against his father.

But that wasn't good enough for Steve Hodel, who has continued seeking more evidence in hopes of convincing his former employer, the LAPD, to declare the case officially solved.

So when the opportunity arose to return to the Sowden house with Dostie and Buster, Hodel took it.

The arrangements with the current ownership had been made by producers of a segment for the "Ghost Hunters" program on the SyFy Channel.

Hodel knew that the sounds of blows and a woman's screams had been heard coming from the basement, according to the transcript of what police heard through the bug. The basement had never been finished and when Hodel, Dostie and the SyFy crew went there last November, the floor was still dirt.

With his keen sense of smell, Buster alerted in four locations, indicating he had picked up the scent of human decomposition, faint traces of which can remain for decades, Dostie said.

But is it corroboration? Dostie cannot say for sure. The decomposition of human tissue that Buster detected did not necessarily originate in the basement.

With the house on a slope, it is possible traces may have migrated downslope from the hillside lot above. Labwork may be able to pin down the possibilities. Hodel is waiting for the results.

Dostie and Buster have moved on to other searches, Buster hardly losing a step despite the fact that the black lab was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in a hind leg, which had to be amputated.

Comic-Con International 2013 may be more than five months away, but tickets to San Diego’s most famous four-day pop culture extravaganza will go on sale this month.

According to San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) organizers, badge sales for this year’s event officially begin at 9 a.m. on Feb. 16.

To purchase a badge, attendees must have a valid Comic-Con Member ID. To sign up for a Member ID, click here. The Member ID system will close to new registrations on Feb. 12 and will not reopen until badge sales are over, according to the SDCC website.

This year, Comic-Con runs from Thursday, Jul. 18 through Sunday, Jul. 21. There’s also a preview night Wednesday, Jul. 17.

That being said, the prices for badges are as follows: $175 per adult for a four-day badge with preview night included and $87 for juniors (ages 13 to 17) and U.S. military and seniors.

For a four-day badge without preview night the price is $150 for adults and $75 for juniors, U.S.
military and seniors. Single-day passes for Thursday through Sunday are $42 for adults and $21 for juniors, U.S. military and seniors.

For a single-day Sunday only badge, the price is $24 for adults and $12 for juniors, U.S. military and seniors.

As always, the event is being held at the San Diego Convention Center located at 111 W. Harbor Dr. This year marks the 44th annual SDCC.

For details about Comic-Con 2013, including the latest news on scheduled panels and celebrities appearing at the show, visit the event website.

A 14-month-old toddler is fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit following a deadly crash near Rancho Santa Fe.

On Friday, San Diego resident Monserrat Mendez, 41, was killed when an SUV struck her as she was pushing a stroller carrying a toddler in the 14700 block of Camino Del Sur and Via Verrazzano.

Mendez suffered critical injuries in the collision and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The toddler sustained major injuries and was transported to Rady Children’s Hospital, where he remained in serious condition Friday night.

Mendez was the boy’s nanny.

The toddler’s mother, a Santa Luz resident, spoke exclusively with NBC 7 Friday night and said Mendez had been working for her family since last September. The nanny leaves behind two teenage children of her own.

As for the toddler, his mother told NBC 7 that the boy remains in Intensive Care at Rady Children’s with a fractured femur, a pelvic fracture, a broken rib and a skull fracture. He also has a shattered spleen and may need surgery.

The mother said her son turns 14 months old Saturday. She said the family is in complete shock over the incident and extremely saddened by the loss of their nanny.

According to San Diego police, Mendez was pushing the stroller through the crosswalk when the deadly collision occurred. A report released by the Medical Examiner’s office late Friday night said Mendez was crossing the intersection when the driver of the SUV ran a red light.

Police said the victims were dragged from one crosswalk to the next during the collision.

The toddler’s stroller wound up wedged under the wheel of the SUV. Witness Iraj Karimi told NBC 7 that a female bicyclist pulled the toddler out from under the stroller. Karimi also said the driver was screaming following the accident.

The accident had other locals shaken up as well, including Santa Luz resident Moe Abdou.

“[This is] shocking -- absolutely shocking. It’s one of those things you just can’t imagine,” said Abdou. “I just pray the child makes it and I pray his family is doing fine. I can’t – I’m speechless.”

On Friday night, NBC 7 learned the woman driving the SUV may be a new mother herself. After running a check on the vehicle’s license plate, NBC 7 learned the car was registered to a Jeffrey Padilla who lives near the scene of the accident.

NBC 7 went to the address and a man who identified himself as a Mr. Padilla answered the door. He said his wife was too distraught to issue a statement.

“Please, she’s gone through enough,” Padilla told NBC 7. “There’s no way we can give a statement right now. We have a one-day-old baby.”

NBC 7 is choosing not to reveal the injured toddler’s name at this time. His mother gave us permission to use his photo above. The boy was featured on NBC 7’s morning show in December during our “Baby’s First Birthday” segment.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

Hundreds of San Diegans gathered in downtown San Diego Saturday morning to meet Mayor Bob Filner.

Filner held open office hours beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the City Administration Building located at 202 C Street.

The event was open to any and all San Diegans who wanted to “show up and talk.”

Filner told NBC 7 this is part of his mission as mayor to make himself accessible to the public. The event, he said, is one of many to come.

“I’ve always believed that government has to be very close to the people,” said Filner. “[I thought] Let’s have people come into City Hall Saturday mornings and we’ll just talk to people. Have some coffee and just talk. It’s as simple as that.”

The mayor said meeting with locals gives him true perspective on what’s currently happening in our city.

“It really grounds you in the real problems that people have,” he added. “People who are homeless, people who are trying to keep their business going. It’s amazing. I get recommitted to solving issues that people have.”

Attendees were satisfied with their time with the mayor. Local Harris Clayton said he had about three minutes to talk with Filner Saturday morning and said their meeting went well.

Clayton went specifically to talk with Filner about issues pertaining to District 4, including affordable housing and education.

“I think it’s a good forum. It eliminates a barrier [and the notion] that a politician is not accessible. When you have that type of humane closeness with the mayor then there’s more engagement and involvement between citizens and the mayor because there’s a listening ear,” said Clayton.

Meanwhile, a group of locals showed up to meet with Filner on behalf of One Billion Rising, an organization committed to ending violence against women and girls.

The organization wanted to speak with Filner about a march they’re hosting locally on Feb. 14 and speak to the mayor about his plans to end this type of violence in San Diego.

“I think it’s great to have an open forum to talk to our leaders,” said one woman from the group. “We haven’t had this in a very long time.”

Young residents were also excited about getting a chance to meet with Filner.

Local soccer player Ruby Richter visited the mayor with her family to talk to him about getting the City to fix some club soccer fields.

Richter said the field where she plays with her team is riddled with gopher holes. She broke her ankle during practice after stumbling on one of the holes and wants to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to other kids.

“We want to fix the gopher holes so no one else breaks their ankle or hurts anything,” she said.

Two women were injured overnight after falling from Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach, authorities said.

Fire officials say the women somehow fell from the cliffs to the beach below at around 2 a.m. They both sustained non-life threatening injuries and were transported to local hospitals.

A passerby reported the incident to officials. When lifeguards and firefighters arrived, they scaled the cliffs and discovered the injured women on the beach.

With help from a helicopter crew, rescuers hoisted the women up from the beach.

Officials did not release any further details regarding the incident. It has not been confirmed whether alcohol played a factor in the fall.

The victims' names have not been released.

Hundreds of people headed to Poinsettia Park in Carlsbad Saturday to help raise money for kids suffering from life-threatening diseases.

The Mitchell Thorp Foundation (MTF), a local nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses and disorders, held its 4th annual MTF 5K Walk/Run at Thorp Field in Carlsbad Saturday.

Many local parents and children signed up to participate in the benefit walk, including a number of cheerleaders from Carlsbad High School who were there to show support for fellow cheerleader Rebecca Edgin.

Edgin is battling cancer at Rady Children’s Hospital.

The teenager’s friends, including Ally Hatter, say Edgin is a fighter. They're happy to rally behind her in this way.

“It’s really difficult to see her in the hospital. She’s our age. She keeps her spirit up. She is just an amazing girl,” Hatter told NBC 7.

For Edgin’s family -- and so many other local families of children battling difficult diseases – their illness doesn’t just take an emotional toll, it also causes financial burden.

Hospital bills can overwhelm families as they try anything they can to care for their ill children.

This is where the Mitchell Thorp Foundation comes in.

“Even if they have insurance, the bills still come in and exceed what their insurance covers, so that’s when it gets hard for the families,” said MTF co-founder Beth Thorp.

In 2006, the community helped raise money for Brad and Beth Thorp when their son, Mitchell Thorp, was battling an illness that eventually took his life.

Since then, the Thorps have been holding fundraisers, like Saturday's 5K run, to help other families.

Their work carries a type of “pay it forward” mission that the Thorps are happy to uphold.

“It is our honor after Mitchell's passing to carry this forward,” said Thorp.

Saturday’s 5K event is also helping 11-year-old Pria Rico and her family.

At age 11, Rico has had nearly 50 throat surgeries to remove recurring tumors. The surgeries have impacted her speaking voice, leading her to talk in a faint whisper.

Still, Rico looks at the bright side, thankful for each and every day.

“We always make the best out of what we have,” said Rico. "l’ve gotten so used to it, because I've had so many [surgeries] that it doesn't really faze me anymore.”

Rico’s 7-year-old brother, Tanner, suffers from MS and needs to see a specialist in Ohio.

For the Rico family, fundraisers like the MTF 5K are a true blessing.

"The fundraiser literally pays for it for us,” said Pria’s and Tanner’s father, Tony Rico.

The walk will make is possible for Tanner to see that specialist.

And that’s certainly something to cheer about.

More information about the Mitchell Thorp Foundation and how you can help support local children and families in need, visit the organization’s website.
 

Police are searching for a missing young man last seen on Tuesday,

According to the San Diego Police Department, Robert Manalo, 18, was last seen around 7:30 a.m. near Morse High School.

Police say Manalo was distraught over recent car accidents and the loss of a girlfriend when he disappeared.

Officials later found the teen’s 2002 Toyota truck, unoccupied, in San Juan Capistrano near Avenida Aeropuerto and Calle Aviador.

Manalo, however, remains missing.

Police describe him as an Asian male, 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes. Manalo was wearing a black North Face-brand jacket, jeans and a black baseball hat at the time he went missing.

Officials encourage anyone with information on Manalo’s whereabouts to contact the SDPD at (619) 531-2000.
 

A woman was robbed at gunpoint on a street in Hillcrest Saturday morning, police confirmed.

Officer Frank Cali said the robbery happened on Cleveland Avenue just after 10 a.m.

A female employee from the Check N Go located at 1264 University Ave. was working with a male co-worker on Cleveland Avenue, on their way to Bank of America. The woman was carrying a money bag.

Police say a man passed the pair and a few seconds later, he ran behind the woman and pushed her to ground, grabbing the money bag.

The two struggled and during their scuffle, the suspect brandished a silver handgun.

The woman gave up the money bag and the suspect fled eastbound on Cleveland. He was last seen possibly getting into a black VW Jetta, police said.

The woman was not injured.

Police describe the suspect as a Hispanic man in his 20s with tattoos on his neck. He was wearing a black baseball cap, black hooded sweatshirt and jeans during the robbery.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
 

A decorated former Navy SEAL who authored the book "American Sniper" was one of two people shot and killed at an Erath County shooting range Saturday, according to an NBC 5 source and a newspaper report.

The Stephenville Empire-Tribune reported Saturday that Chris Kyle and another man were shot and killed at a shooting range at Rough Creek Resort and Lodge in Glen Rose late Saturday afternoon. An NBC 5 source also confirmed that Kyle was killed at the gun range.

The other victim has not yet been identified.

The newspaper reported that Eddie Ray Routh was arrested in connection with the fatal shootings.

Empire-Tribune reporter Sara Vanden Berge told NBC 5 that it did not sound like an accidental shooting but appeared to be an intentional shooting.

Vanden Berge said Kyle was at the shooting range with the suspect and another man. She said her understanding was that Kyle had an open invitation to visit and use the range at Rough Creek and did not have a guide with him.

A source told her that the man suspected in the shootings was a veteran and may have been doing some sort of shooting therapy, she told NBC 5.

Lancaster police confirmed that Routh was arrested Saturday night and that he was a wanted murder suspect.

The spokesman for Lancaster police said officers spotted Routh and took him into custody at Interstate 35 and Camp Wisdom Road after a short chase.

NBC 5 sources say Routh was in Kyle's pickup truck when he was arrested.

Kyle, who was born in West Texas and grew up in Dallas, served four combat tours in Iraq between the start of the war and 2008.

He is believed to have been one of the best snipers in the world and holds the most career sniper kills in U.S. military history with 160 confirmed kills. The previous American record was 109, according to Kyle's book.

Kyle competed on NBC's "Stars Earn Stripes" last summer.

The reality show paired eight celebrities with people from a branch of the military or a first-responder agency to compete in missions inspired by military exercises. Kyle teamed up with actor Dean Cain, who competed for the Wounded Warrior Project.

NBC 5's Chris Van Horne contributed to this report.

Funeral arrangements were announced Friday for the 15-year-old girl whose shooting death on Chicago's south side this week captured national attention.

Meanwhile, officials announced the pool of reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Hadiya Pendleton's killer had increased to $40,000.

Pendleton, a student at King College Prep High, was shot Tuesday afternoon as she and a group of other teens sought cover from a rain storm in Vivian Gordon Harsh Park, on the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue.

• Slain Teen's Mom: "She Was Just Special"

A visitation for the teen will be held Friday, Feb. 8 at Calahan Funeral Home, at 7030 S. Halsted St., from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. A wake and funeral will beheld the following day beginning at 9 a.m. at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church, at 5141 S. State St.

It was unclear late Friday if President Barack Obama would heed a request to attend the funeral, but a pastor confirmed the president did speak with the girl's parents.

"We thank him for that, and if he does come, that's fine. If he doesn't, we know he sends his love," said Pastor Courtney Maxwell.

• As Gun Debate Continues, Chicago Teen's Death Reaches D.C.

Earlier in the day, dozens marched from the girl's school to where she was gunned down, passing out leaflets along the way and pleading for the shooter to come forward.

Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said his officers were chasing a "ton of tips" from the community and felt confident that "something's going to pan out."

"If we get this guy into custody, we may save somebody else from going through what this family is going through right now, because that's a stone-cold killer," McCarthy said with Pendleton's heartbroken family and religious leaders at his side.

Online, moving tributes to Pendleton were being posted and shared so that no one forgets what's been lost while authorities search for a killer.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rainbow PUSH Coalition planned to hold a Saturday rally in honor of Pendleton. Organizers planned to begin the event at 10 a.m. at the group's headquarters, at 930 E. 50th St.. Ministers, legislators, school officials, parents and other supporters then planned to march toward Vivian Gordon Harsh Park.