Raul Vargas Castro, 52

Raul Vargas Castro, a 52-year-old Latino, was pronounced dead from a fatal shooting on Jan. 30 next to the Los Angeles River, north of the intersection of Tweedy Boulevard and Burtis Road in South Gate, according to Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner records. 

A construction worker called the South Gate Police Department that morning to report a body that was face down in the river, said Lt. Edward Perez. 

At first it appeared his body had been anchored to the site since it wasn't moving in the swift water, Perez said, but investigators discovered that it had caught on some debris in the river.

Castro was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:30 a.m., according to coroner's records. The cause of death was listed as multiple gunshot wounds. 

The case was turned over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau, which investigates homicides for South Gate. 

Sheriff's Lt. Derrick Alfred said investigators believed Castro was shot somewhere north of where his body was found, possibly in Bell Gardens. 

Castro was homeless and had been living on the street of Bell Gardens, where he reportedly got into a disagreement with other people in the area, Alfred said. Investigators were trying to determine whether the disagreement was related to the shooting, he said. 

It's not clear when he was shot, Alfred said, "but it did not seem he had been in the river for long."

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.