Eliazar Luna Quezadas, 22

Eliazar Luna Quezadas, a 22-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Sunday, Sept. 28 in the 2200 block of East Compton Boulevard in Compton, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigators. 

The shooting occurred about 11:51 p.m. as Luna Quezadas was walking south on the sidewalk toward his apartment a few blocks away, said Det. Eduardo Aguirre.

Investigators learned that a second man who was walking with Luna Quezadas was also shot, Aguirre said. He ran from the scene before deputies arrived and was later treated for a gunshot wound to his foot. 

The man told investigators that he had just met Luna Quezadas that evening, Aguirre said. He was new to the area and out walking, looking for a liquor store, when he ran into Luna Quezadas.

He asked for directions to the liquor store, and Luna Quezadas said he'd take him there. When they arrived, the man bought Luna Quezadas a beer as a thank you, and then the two men headed back toward their homes about a quarter-mile away, Aguirre said.

Investigators obtained video from a security camera of the two men walking and talking shortly before the shooting, Aguirre said.

"They seemed to be having a great time," he said. "They'd just struck up a friendship."

When the men approached Thorson Street, a red sedan slowly drove by. The car then made a U-turn on East Compton Boulevard, the man told investigators, and a passenger in the car began shooting. 

The two men ran in different directions, Aguirre said. The man headed down a side street and Luna Quezadas ran down East Compton Boulevard toward his home, until he collapsed near South Harris Avenue. Aguirre said investigators found an unopened can of beer by his side. 

Luna Quezadas was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:05 a.m. on Sept. 28, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

The shooting could have been gang related, Aguirre said, but investigators don't believe Luna Quezadas was a gang member.  He had two young children, Aguirre said, but he and their mother had separated a year earlier, and he was living alone.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.