Jose Hernandez Iribe, 31

Jose Hernandez Iribe, a 31-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Saturday, July 12, in the 1700 block of North Summit Avenue in Pasadena, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Around 4:20 p.m., the Pasadena Police Department received several 911 calls of shots fired in the area, police said. Iribe, who lived in the neighborhood was north of the shooting and “ran toward the gunfire,” said Pasadena Police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez.

Police described Iribe as a “good Samaritan,” who was attempting to help other people who were wounded. He was pronounced dead in a driveway at 5:25 p.m., according to coroner’s records.

The gunman, identified by police as John Izeal Smith, a 44-year-old black man, first allegedly shot and killed Luis Fernando Aguiar, 91, inside a home.

Aguiar’s daughter, 59-year-old Maria Teresa Aguiar, was also fatally wounded as she tried to run away from the home, police said.

A police officer in the area saw Aguiar on the sidewalk and attempted to help her when Smith allegedly shot at the officer, Sanchez said. The officer was pinned behind a patrol car and was uninjured.

Smith then barricaded himself in a home and called the police department’s communications center. Diane Marin, the emergency operator who took Smith’s call, recounted his alleged words.

“He said, ‘I killed someone,’” Marin said at a press conference July 14.

Smith surrendered to Pasadena SWAT officers outside the home after speaking for 20 minutes with Marin, who was assisted by a crisis negotiator. Two other people also suffered “moderate” injuries during the hour-long ordeal.

Smith was charged July 15 with three counts of capital murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders and a special allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged a rifle, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

Smith was armed with two assault rifles and one semiautomatic pistol but the gunfire came from one weapon, Sanchez said.

In addition, Smith was charged with three counts of attempted murder, including the attempted murder of a police officer.

A motive for the shooting remains under investigation but Sanchez said a landlord-tenant dispute and a “long-term relationship” between the suspect and victims appear to be the “main themes.”

An arraignment was scheduled to continue on Aug. 7.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4241; anonymous tipsters may call (800) 222-8477.

-- Los Angeles Times staff