Jose Angel Arroyo, 23

Jose Angel Arroyo, a 23-year-old Latino, died Wednesday, June 6, after he was shot at 1130 Peck Road in South El Monte, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

Arroyo and his girlfriend went to the Shell Station at Durfee Avenue and Peck Road to purchase gas on Monday, June 4, and went inside the store to pay about 1:45 a.m., according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Derrick Alfred. 

In the store, Arroyo, a gang member, “had a little conversation” with another man who was involved in a rival gang, according to Alfred. 

The man returned to his car to pump his gas, and Arroyo and his girlfriend followed a few minutes later, Alfred said. 

The girlfriend kept walking to their car, which was parked on the opposite side of the pumps from the rival gang member's vehicle, but Arroyo stopped, Alfred said. 

The rear door of the suspect car opened and Arroyo walked up to the door to speak to the passenger inside, Alfred said, explaining that investigators saw this on surveillance footage from the gas station.

“It looks like he was talking to somebody and then some sort of physical shoving altercation occurred,” Alfred said. “It appears that somebody inside the car fired a round and hit him [Arroyo] in the head. He fell, and the car took off.”

Arroyo’s girlfriend didn’t realize he wasn’t behind her until she hear the gunfire, Alfred said. Arroyo was taken to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead at 5:05 p.m., according to coroner’s records. The cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound to the head. 

The suspect’s vehicle was a dark-colored square-shaped compact car, like a Scion, Alfred said. 

Arroyo lived in Compton, Alfred said, but had previously lived in El Monte, and was involved with a gang there, according to El Monte police, Alfred said. 

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

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.