Dispatch: 'This was not a murder. It was a very, very unfortunate accident'

The day after 24-year-old Alex Diaz was released from jail he sat silently in a bedroom at his family’s El Monte apartment – freshly showered. 

The door was cracked open to the living room, where his oldest brother, Alfonso Diaz, 26, spoke about the shooting Saturday, Jan. 16 that killed their younger brother Erik, a 19-year-old Latino.

Alex, who has been blind since birth, fired a gunshot that struck Erik in the stomach. Police have said they believe the 1 a.m. shooting in the Diaz family apartment was unintentional.

"It had to be an accident," Alfonso said, six days after his brother’s death. "We would never take each other’s life."

Erik was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center Hospital where he underwent surgery. Alfonso saw his brother about eight hours later.

"It was horrible," he said. "[Erik] couldn’t speak. He tried making signals to me but I couldn’t understand him."

Erik died that night at 7:53 p.m.

As Alfonso spoke about his brother, their mother, Delia Ortiz, returned home from a visit to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. She went there to seek help paying for Erik’s funeral and burial, which she has been told will cost $11,000.

Asked to share her thoughts about Erik or what happened on his final night, she paused, then whispered, “No. No.” She closed her eyes, wrapped her arms across her chest, and tears streamed down her face.

El Monte police arrested Alex Diaz shortly after the shooting, said L.A. County Sheriff’s Department homicide Det. Robert Harris. Alex was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and was released Thursday, Jan. 21. No charges were filed.

"This was not a murder,” Harris said. “It was a very, very unfortunate accident."

He declined to elaborate because the shooting remained under investigation by the L.A. County district attorney’s office.

Alfonso said he was not at the apartment that night and does not know details about the shooting, including where the gun came from. Neither of his brothers were involved in gang activity, he said.

Erik was a cheerful, outgoing guy, Alfonso said. Erik would call him anytime he saw a low-rider bicycle that he admired in their neighborhood, Alfonso recalled, smiling.  Two years ago, Alfonso finally bought him one.

“I always loved seeing him with his friends, just riding around,” he said.

Alfonso said Erik — who worked a factory job to help support his mother and sister — valued time with his family.

"Before Christmas was over he was already planning the next family get-together for New Years," Alfonso said.

Alfonso says he’ll miss his brother Erik’s phone calls the most.

"He always used to call me about every little thing he was excited about.”

At the same time, he said he is doing his best to help Alex.

“And thank God he was [released] because he’s not supposed to be in there," Alfonso said. "He’s not used to that type of environment. He’s just a normal guy. He’s not a troublemaker."

Alfonso said Alex is studying at Pasadena City College to become a computer technician for people who read Braille.

Alex sat on his bed, staring into space and listening to Alfonso talk about their brother in the other room, the same room where Erik used to sleep. A short time later, his sister and a family friend joined Alex in his bedroom and closed the door.

They passed along an interview request but Alex declined.

"[Alex] is really devastated," Alfonso said. "We’re just trying to be there for him."

--Madeleine Scinto and Richie Duchon Neon Tommy/Annenberg Digital News

Photo: A memorial to Erik Diaz at his family's apartment shows his photos over the years. Credit: Richie Duchon

Editors' note: The Times and Annenberg Digital News at USC's Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism have begun a collaboration on the Homicide Report. Our hope is that this will provide readers with more frequent dispatches from the field, as well as give student journalists valuable crime-reporting experience. -- Megan Garvey / Los Angeles Times and Alan Mittelstaedt / Annenberg Digital News.