As gang violence escalates in Santa Barbara, city and school leaders, law enforcement officials and social service workers wrestle with how to reach vulnerable kids. *** WATCH THE VIDEO  ***

Mayor Marty Blum lights a candle at a vigil for the slain teen.

It happened in the middle of a workday as shoppers and tourists strolled the streets of downtown Santa Barbara: A 15-year-old was stabbed and bludgeoned to death by gang members.

A latent but serious problem in the city of palm trees and scenic views suddenly had a name and a face.

Luis Angel Linares, a student at El Puente Community School, staggered to the parking lot behind Saks Fifth Avenue on State Street after the brutal March 14 attack. He was pronounced dead shortly after at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

The suspect -- 14-year-old Ricardo Juarez -- will be arraigned on murder charges Friday in Santa Barbara Superior Court. He is the first minor to be charged for murder as an adult since a 2000 state law passed allowing the district attorney to do so, authorities said.

The alleged crime caught the attention of the media, and frightened parents and residents flocked to services and forums to talk about gang violence.

However, the stabbing wasn’t particularly surprising to city officials, police and those who work with gang members. Tension between the Eastside and Westside gangs has been escalating for some time, they say.

“We’ve been dealing with this problem for years,” said Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez.

Just last May, a 16-year-old boy nearly died from stab wounds he sustained during a gang brawl on the Cacique Street footbridge, authorities said.

Gang affiliation is “clearly a choice,” the chief said. “No one is twisting their arms to join. Unfortunately they feel the peer pressure or whatever else, but the city has been really good at having resources available to help them.”

Leaders and activists are wrestling with the question of what to do next. It is unfortunate, the chief said, that the city’s programs for youth and other interventions that could be taken to curb the gang problem here only capture the spotlight after a tragedy such as last month’s stabbing.

Santa Barbara already has dozens of programs and nonprofit organizations that work with youth to show them other options in life. Later this month, for example, 34 youth organizations will come together for a Youth Summit at the YMCA to talk about bullying and other issues.

Santa Barbara does not need more programs, said Babatunde Folayemi, a former city councilman and founder of the now-defunct Pro-Youth Coalition.

“The solution is really quite simple,” he said. “We need to make youth our No. 1 priority.”

He is working for better coordination between the existing programs and services, and has talked in recent weeks about reviving some aspects of the coalition, which administered grants and offered programs to stem gang violence until funding ran dry. Folayemi is holding a meeting this week with community activists, police and city and county officials to discuss some concrete action.

Many community members expressed frustration with the ongoing gang problem, saying it has festered for years without resolution. At a forum sponsored by Casa de la Raza a week after the fatal stabbing, one 15-year-old girl said through tears that the violence had been escalating on school campuses with little attention from leaders.

“We’re all afraid to let our kids walk to school,” said Griselda Garcia, a parent of four kids who attended a memorial service hosted by local clergy groups last week.

School officials have taken an active role in the discussions about gang violence. Santa Barbara High School District Superintendent Brian Sarvis immediately cancelled future minimum days after the stabbing, which occurred shortly after students left campus following a half-day of classes.

School officials have also been working with parents, and are now using trained dogs to conduct random sweeps in schools for contraband and weapons.

Sarvis has said he will also invite Richard Ramos, author of “Got Gangs? Practical Guidance for Parents/Teachers on a Mission for Gang Prevention/Intervention,” to speak at a series of upcoming meetings with parents, students and staff members in the school district.

Mayor Marty Blum and members of the City Council have blanketed the city in recent weeks to attend memorial services, forums and community meetings -- some of which were planned before the stabbing occurred.

Blum agreed with Folayemi that there are already plenty of programs in place for children and families, but she said leaders need to reevaluate what is working and where shortfalls exist.

“We know it’s hard out there,” she said. “We know rents are high. … I think we need to look at what it is we can do. That’s what people are grappling with right now.”

She pointed to the Pro-Youth Coalition, the Police Activity League, the new Teen Center and other programs sponsored by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department as positive models that should be built upon.

The city’s Committee on Youth will also be discussing in coming weeks a possible resolution that could be adopted regarding gang violence and public safety, said Councilman Roger Horton, a member of the committee. The resolution would serve as a guide when leaders consider projects such as the renovation of the bus transit center on Carrillo and Chapala streets, where gang fights frequently break out. Leaders could also consider planning designs that include better street lighting and other safety measures.

The resolution would eventually have to come to the City Council for approval.

Folayemi said the most important thing is including youth in the solution -- whatever it might be.

“We need to empower them and bring them into the fold,” he said. “As parents and as a community we have to love these kids. … At some point, we will break through to them.”