Julio Cesar Ramirez Valencia, 41

Julio Cesar Ramirez Valencia, a 41-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Friday,  Nov. 25, on McKinley Avenue north of 135th Street in Compton, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records. 

Ramirez Valencia was driving north in the 13400 block of Stanford Avenue about 4:35 p.m. when he came upon two black men walking in the street, said Lt. Joe Mendoza. 

The three men “had a brief exchange of words,” Mendoza said, and as Ramirez Valencia continued driving, one of the pedestrians pulled out a gun and began shooting at the car. 

The men on foot then ran the opposite direction, south on Stanford Avenue, a block east on 135th Street and then north on McKinley Street, according to witnesses. 

Ramirez Valencia turned his two-door compact car around and followed the two men to McKinley Street, where one of the runners fired again, this time striking Ramirez Valencia in the upper torso, Mendoza said.

The car rolled into the curb, Mendoza said, and Ramirez Valencia was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:44 p.m. with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

Ramirez Valencia lived in the area, Mendoza said, and investigators believe the shooting was gang related. Detectives are reviewing film from security cameras to try to get a better description of the shooters, he said. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department 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.