Nick Cannon’s childhood friend was the sole fatality of a recent mass shooting in San Diego. A gunman opened fire at a pool party in the upscale La Jolla neighborhood Sunday (April 30) killing 35-year-old Monique Clark, and injuring seven others.
The shooter, 49-year-old, Peter Selis, randomly targeted the group, because he was distraught over a recent breakup, reports the Associated Press.
Clark, a mother of three, had only been at the party for 20 minutes before she was shot.
“My heart hurts with great sadness tonight,” Cannon captioned a childhood photo alongside Clark. “I just learned that the one life lost in the senseless and tragic mass shooting in San Diego was my childhood friend, who was more like family, Miss Monique Clark. Such a beautiful spirit with an infectious smile.”
Cannon added that he had “nothing but wonderful memories of” Clark who he called an “angel.”
“Tears can’t express the pain and shock,” he continued. “A mother of three, a sister, a daughter, a cousin, a friend and a Queen… Rest in Paradise.”
Although most of the victims were black and Latino and Selis was white, authorities don’t believe race had anything to do with the violence. Officers arrived at the complex as Selis appeared to be reloading his weapon. He was shot and killed after pointing his gun at police.
“These victims were just in his vicinity when he committed this terrible tragedy,” San Diego police Chief Shelley Zimmerman told the media. “What started as a celebration of a friend’s birthday party turned into a tragedy of just epic proportion for all those in attendance.”
Selis walked into a 50th birthday party at the La Jolla Crossroads complex at around 6 p.m. Sunday. Guests assumed he had been invited to the party when he laid down on a lounge chair by the pool, before pulling a gun out of his waistband and shooting the party host twice in the torso.
He called his ex-girlfriend after shooting two people, and eventually hung up after two more shots were heard. “Selis stayed on the phone talking to his ex-girlfriend as he continued to fire his weapon,” Zimmerman explained. “It is apparent that Selis wanted his ex-girlfriend to listen in as he carried out his rampage.”
Clark’s father launched a GoFundMe account to raise money for her funeral, and has already raised over $30,000.
The other shooting victims are expected to make full recoveries.
See Cannon’s post below.