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Jaime Gabriel Butanda, 14

Jaime Gabriel Butanda, a 14-year-old Latino, died Tuesday, May 1, after he was shot in the 300 block of South Enid Avenue in Azusa, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

Azusa Police officers were called to the area about 3 p.m. regarding a gunshot victim and they found Jaime slumped over a fire hydrant with multiple gunshot wounds, according to coroner’s records. 

Jaime was near his home when he was shot, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Moore. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:31 p.m., according to coroner’s records. 

Investigators don’t have any information about the shooter, or a motive, Moore said. 

They also don’t know if Jaime’s fatal shooting is related to the fatal shooting of William Perez, 21, which occurred five days earlier on April 27. 

Perez was shot in the back in the 600 block of Glenfinnan Avenue, about two miles northeast of where Jaime was shot. Investigators don't have any suspects in that case, but believe the shooting may be gang-related, said Lt. Derrick Alfred.

Jesse Butanda, Jaime’s grandfather, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that his son was riding his bicycle home from a friend’s house when he was shot. Butanda said he texted his grandson to come home so he could finish his homework, the Tribune reported, and shortly  before 3 p.m. Jaime texted him back, saying he was on his way home. 

Butanda said he texted back, asking if Jaime needed a ride, but never got a response. Moments later, Butanda said, his daughter,  Jaime’s mother, got a call saying “something happened to your son,” the Tribune reported. 

Jaime was a big kid, 6 feet tall, who attended Options for Youth in Irwindale, a public charter school, according to the Tribune. He was the second eldest of six siblings, and liked eating, playing soccer and riding his bike, his grandfather said. 

He wasn’t involved in a gang,  Jesse Butanda told the paper, and he hopes people will remember his grandson as someone who “treated people with dignity and respect. He was a good kid…. He really never had any intentions of harming people.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 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.

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