German Garay, 31

German Garay, 31-year old Latino, was shot multiple times at 3618 N. Pasadena Ave. in Highland Park about 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19. He was taken by ambulance to County-USC Medical Center, where he died at 5:19 p.m.

German was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting as he stood holding a machete in front of a pay telephone, authorities said.

He was acting strange shortly before the 4:40 p.m. shooting, repeating in Spanish, "I'm looking for death" and pacing in front of a phone in the 3600 block of Pasadena Avenue, police said.

Garay had beaten the receiver against the console until it broke. Los Angeles police later recovered a second machete from behind the phone.

Witnesses told police that a gray Honda sedan pulled up to the sidewalk near the phone, multiple shots were fired and the victim dropped to the ground. A male with a shaved head climbed into the passenger side of the car before it sped away, witnesses also said.

Homicide detectives with LAPD's Northeast Division are investigating the incident.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske

[This blog post initially gave the neighborhood as Montecito Heights prior to The Times' Mapping L.A. project]