Oscar Rodriguez Leal, 27

Oct. 5, 2013

Oscar Rodriguez Leal, a 27-year-old Latino, was killed in a drive-by shooting Saturday, Oct. 5, in the 1400 block of West 154th Street in Compton, according to L.A. County coroner’s records.

Shortly before 2 a.m., Leal and others were standing in a front yard when a vehicle drove past slowly, according to a news release from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

Leal and the people in the vehicle exchanged words, then someone in the vehicle fired shots.

Leal was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m., according to coroner’s records.

Anyone with information can call the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Nicole Santa Cruz

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18 reader comments

Hello, my name is Angelica Leal. I am Oscar Leal's youngest sibling and only sister. The comments about my brother supposedly being in a gang are inaccurate, disturbing and come from people who dropped out of high school and work minimum wage at a job they despise. My brother was an amazing person, very big heart and wonderful to everyone, even those he disliked. Though I was 13 at the time this occurred, I know that many questions were left unanswered and the story was twisted to seem like a cover up. To Nuk and Tony Teese, it is disgusting for you to assume my brothers life style just because your life has gone down the drain and speaking ill of others makes you fell better. My brother was shot in the back and that is all we know. He was about the graduate from Santa Monica college and pursue a career in creating games. I know that someone knows what happened and is hiding something from the party. Stating that "he should have known better than going to Compton at 2am" is the reason people continue to have this negative connotation towards Los Angeles and gentrification continues to happen. Regardless of where this happened, it still happened, and it should not have happened. So please, if you have nothing useful to say for this case, kindly shut your mouths and let the adults discuss the details; because clearly, you are still very immature if you are assuming/accusing someones lifestyle as an "adult" yourself. My family and I are continuing to grieve over our loss, and having children stick their nose and giving their opinions that no one asked for is taking the light away from the real problem.

— Angelica Leal March 11, 2021 at 10:38 p.m.

As one of Oscar's best friends and one of the 3 people who were with him that night when the incident happened, Oscar was a great person and was always there for his friends, girlfriend, and family. Don't assume stuff because it was in a certain area or at a certain time. Listen to what Fernando and the cousin say, he was NOT in a gang and there was no confrontation (that is a lie). After meeting the family and hearing what the mom said about certain things being posted on line, I did not want to believe it. If you do not know Oscar don't assume stuff and lie, if anything show your respect for the family. To this day, I still do not want to believe this happened but he will always be remembered for the great person he was.

— Michael Czerwinski Dec. 22, 2013 at 10:25 p.m.