Loved ones of Seaside homicide victims honored at the Eternal Light of Hope Day

In Seaside, family and friends who have lost loved ones to homicide gathered as part of the Eternal Light of Hope Day.

“We created this event for opportunity for family members to meet us personally in person face-to-face, not just over the phone, not just once a year while we're going traveling and doing follow up," Seaside Police Commander Matthew Doza said.

Seaside Police say since they've started aggressively working on cold cases, they've identified 30 cases they believe they can eventually solve. During the event, people like Mike Lopez described the lost of his brother, Gabriel Garibay, who was shot and killed back in 1993.

Lopez announced at the event he's putting $5,000 of his own money into a reward for information to help police find his brother's killer.

“It's $5,000 reward, you know, and I pay cash, if you anybody got a little, you know, any kind of information, you know, the color, or the person, the car or a track, or who they know, any little details," Lopez said.

Throughout the event, Seaside Police presented a few reopened cold cases and some past solved ones.
They also say the event marks a valuable moment for victim’s families and friends to meet others, also going through a similar situation.

Many taking the moment to thank Seaside Police for their work on these cases, yet the department recognizes the work isn't over.

Commander Doza went on to emphasize the importance of reaching out to police if you have any information, no matter how big or small, to help in an ongoing case.