Family of 17-year-old, shot and killed in Baldwin Hills while visiting from Mexico, speak out
Authorities on Tuesday announced that they have a suspect in the deadly shooting of a 17-year-old boy in Baldwin Hills over the weekend, a tragic incident that happened in front of the teen's mother.
RELATED: 17-year-old boy killed, 23-year-old man wounded in car-to-car shooting in Baldwin Hills
The teenage victim, Angel David Flores Trevino, was visiting the city from Mexico with his family.
"Suddenly, a truck pulled up on the left and started shooting," said the victim's father, Jose Flores, through a translator.
The family, who was in town for a college graduation, said that the 17-year-old had just applied to medical school in Mexico. In fact, the family was on their way to the store to buy him clothes for school when the shooting happened.
Police said someone drove up on the passenger side of the family's vehicle on La Cienega Saturday afternoon and started firing, killing Trevino and wounding his 23-year-old cousin, who was driving.
"He wants justice for his son and he wants the people responsible for it to be in jail, so they don't affect other families' lives like they did to us," Flores said through his translator.
The Los Angeles Police Department did make an arrest on Monday, thanks to quick thinking by a witness who took a photo of the shooter's vehicle.
"I'm grateful that the investigation that was made possible by a citizen, by a motorist passing by and taking down a license plate and reporting that information to the police allowed us to identify and arrest the person we believe is responsible for that murder," LAPD Chief Michel Moore said.
For Trevino's family, however, the arrest is little comfort as they remember a young man who loved to sing and dance and had dreams of helping others.
"It's hard to not remember him because he was so happy. He just wanted everyone to be happy," Flores said.
While the family is just now starting the process of saying goodbye, they also started a GoFundMe campaign to help get their deceased loved one back home.
"They snatched his dreams and our lives," Flores said, crying.
Trevino's cousin, who was shot six times, is in the hospital at Cedars Sinai Hospital and is expected to survive, though he will have to undergo additional surgeries.
Chief Moore said officers arrested 29-year-old Prince David Junior for the fatal shooting. He's expected to be officially charged on Wednesday.
