Donte Lavelle Jones, 28

Donte Lavelle Jones, a 28-year-old black man, was shot and killed Friday, Feb. 15, in the 4100 block of South Wall Street in Historic South-Central, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s records.

Shortly before 10 p.m., officers from the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call of a shooting in the area, according to a news release from the LAPD.

When officers arrived, people directed them to Jones, who was suffering from gunshot wounds.

Jones was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:26 p.m., according to coroner’s records.

Police said the reason for the shooting is “unclear.”

Tionna Wedlow, Jones’ sister, said that her brother was born and raised in Los Angeles and worked as a custodian for a school in Culver City. 

The youngest of seven children, Jones wanted to complete an electrician program with hopes of moving up within the school district. 

Jones did not have any children, but loved kids, especially his niece and his girlfriend's children, his sister said.

“He was like a big kid at heart,” she said.

The night of the shooting, Jones was visiting with his girlfriend.

The two were sitting in his car when another car drove up and a person started shooting at the couple, Wedlow said.

Jones pushed his girlfriend to the side, taking the bullets. Police told the family that the shooting could have been a gang initiation, but it’s still unclear.

“It’s just wrong,” Wedlow said. “People who have that mentality, they don’t deserve to be on the streets.”

Wedlow said that she and her brother had a yearly tradition of going out to dinner for their shared birthday of Jan. 28. 

This year, Jones said he wanted to take his sister out.

“He really didn’t deserve this,” Wedlow said. “He was so loving and had so much love for everybody. It’s really sad that the world took him away at such a young age.”

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (323) 846-6556. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.