Oceanside, California—a coastal city renowned both for its sun-soaked beaches and as the home of the sprawling Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton—holds a dual identity. On one side, it is a bustling tourist destination; on the other, working-class neighborhoods reveal a fragile sense of safety that can be shattered in an instant. It was 4:30 p.m. on a Tuesday in October, and the late afternoon sun, still warm in the mid-seventies, cast elongated, golden shadows across the asphalt of the Oceanside Gateway Shopping Center. The after-work crowd was beginning to blend with the remaining daytime shoppers, creating a low hum...
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