One tough week

It was a difficult week in Monterey County, with inexplicable tragedies.

The mystery of the woman who burned to death in a quiet Monterey neighborhood on Monday has been solved — partially, at least. Police say the 61-year-old woman apparently doused herself with isopropyl alcohol and lit a match. The woman was described as a "recluse" and it is unlikely that anyone will ever know what brought her to such a sad end.

And then, on Tuesday, a group of thugs sprayed bullets all over an East Salinas neighborhood, and a stray bullet killed a 6-year-old boy.

Tragic, senseless, outrageous . . . there are not enough adjectives to describe what happened to Azahel Cruz Alcantar. And there is not a place in the afterlife miserable enough to accommodate the wretches who continue to wage ugly violence in Salinas neighborhoods.

Azahel's death had a profound impact on his family and friends, but also on the police, rescue personnel and others who were forced by their profession to respond to the shooting. And that includes the Monterey County press corps; many of the reporters and the photographers who covered the shooting are distraught.

We offer our love and our prayers to Azahel's family.