Detectives and loved ones of a 22-year-old man who was shot and killed in Compton appealed Wednesday for information that could lead to whoever gunned him down as he rode in an SUV with his brother and other family members.
Gerardo Macias died at the scene of the shooting, which occurred about 10:30 p.m. March 16 in the parking lot of an abandoned strip mall at the intersection of Alondra Boulevard and White Avenue, investigators said at a news conference at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau in Monterey Park.
According to investigators, Macias was at his Compton home when he heard the sound of a traffic collision, officials said.
“Gerardo believed someone was gravely injured and asked his brother, Miguel, for a ride to the scene of the collision,” according to a sheriff’s department statement. “Miguel agreed and drove Gerardo and six other family members to the scene of the accident, which they located near Atlantic Boulevard and Alondra Boulevard… .”
The family found two drivers were trapped in the wreckage, and Gerardo Macias tended to the victims until paramedics arrived, according to the sheriff’s department.
Macias and his family members, including young children, left the location in their SUV and made a U-turn on Alondra Boulevard to get to a nearby gas station.
Miguel Macias then steered the SUV slowly through a strip mall parking lot, where it crossed paths with three unfamiliar vehicles.
The vehicles stopped “and without cause, the occupants inside fired several rounds at the Macias family vehicle,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Miguel Macias suffered a through-and-through gunshot wound to his left wrist and Gerardo Macias, who was in the front passenger seat, was struck in the head, officials said.
“The brothers’ 22-month-old niece sustained facial injuries from shattered glass and shrapnel,” according to the sheriff’s department. “It is not yet determined if the injuries she suffered caused permanent damage to her eyesight.”
Two of the suspect vehicles were described as dark-colored, four-door sedans and the third as a light-colored Mercedes-Benz with a sunroof. The Mercedes-Benz was driven by a female and one of the sedans by a male suspect, officials said.
“Detectives believe this murder was unprovoked and without cause,” according to the sheriff’s department. “Gerardo was killed in the presence of close family members, some of whom were impressionable little children. The family lives with the horrible and unforgettable image of Gerardo being shot and killed only a few seats away.”
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the shooting.
Anyone with information about the killing was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
Anonymous tips may be submitted through Crime Stoppers by calling 800-222-TIPS or at lacrimestoppers.org.