The specialty of Rosa Ruiz was Gerbera daisies. She maintained quality control at an Oxnard Nursery where she had worked up the ladder for 26 years. Ruiz always knew which daisies were ready to ship.
Ruiz's family says she tended to them with just as much care until her dying moment. Ruiz was with her son, Luis, also known as Junior, when bullets flew from a passing car.
Lucino Albor is one of eight siblings Ruiz raised. She became a mother to her family when she was a teen.
"We lost our parents when she was 17. The youngest was 2. And she took care of all of us," said Albor.
Junior, 17, was a student at Channel Islands High.
"We got him back to our soccer team. And just last Sunday he scored three goals and we won the semifinals," said Junior's uncle, Felix Ruiz.
Ruiz's family was gathering to celebrate a quinceanera. Relatives from Chicago, Salinas and Oakland were all in town.
On Friday, Junior stepped out to the front lawn to make a phone call. His mother urged him to get back inside, but it was too late.
"What we need is somebody to step forward and say, 'Hey, you know what? This is the right thing to call.' This is a woman and her son who were brutally murdered on a Friday night. You know, we need that phone call," said David Keith, Oxnard Police Department.
Oxnard investigators say they need a tip. The killer likely wants credit for the deadly deed carried out at 11:15 p.m. on Friday. The killer has reportedly bragged about the incident.
Anyone with information can call police anonymously at (805) 982-7070.
Rosa Ruiz, remembered for her flowers, leaves behind four children, two grandchildren.
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