The emotions went from praying through the pain of losing a loved one to the anger of how he was killed.
"The police officers decided to be judge, jury and executioner of our brothers and sons," said the victim's friend, Terri Teramura.
About 40 people showed up for the candlelight vigil for Kevin Arellano. The 22-year-old was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon outside a Santa Ana juice shop.
According to police, Arellano was combative and belligerent with a number of people in the parking lot of a strip mall. When police arrived, detectives say Arellano got into a confrontation with a Santa Ana police officer and then took off running.
What led the 13-year veteran of the department to shoot is under investigation. Arellano had a record, but police say the officer had nonlethal weapons and didn't use them.
"They're just shooting everyone that they want to, when they want to, without training. They have the training and they're not using it. This guy was not posing a threat to anyone, not to that officer," said Genevieve Huizar of Anaheim.
Arellano's family says they want to know why the officer didn't use her Taser to subdue him.
"We want justice, and we want to know what happened. We haven't even seen my brother at all," said the victim's sister, Tania Arellano.
She said her brother's body was left at the scene of the shooting for several hours on Tuesday.
"I want to know why my brother was laying there for so long," she said.
Many people at the vigil said they plan to attend a rally and demonstration at the Santa Ana Police Department headquarters on Saturday.