Raymond Romo, 20

Raymond Romo, a 20-year-old Latino, was fatally shot Thursday, June 9, in the 4100 block of City Terrace Drive in East Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detectives. 

Romo and a friend drove to Eva’s Liquor Store about 11 p.m., and Romo waited outside while his friend, the driver, went inside to buy beer, said Det. Theo Baljet. 

When the friend came out, he noticed a man in a gray hooded sweatshirt walking toward his car, where Romo sat in the passenger seat, Baljet said.

By the time the friend got into the driver’s seat, the man in the sweatshirt had reached the passenger side of the car, Baljet said. The man pulled out a gun, fired one shot into Romo’s chest through the open window, and ran, the detective said.

The friend drove Romo to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:20 p.m., according to coroner’s records. 

Romo grew up in East Los Angeles, in a family of longtime East L.A. residents, Baljet said. He worked at a warehouse, he said. One of Romo's favorite pastimes was fixing up old cars.

Investigators don’t have any other information about the killer or a motive for the shooting. There’s no evidence that Romo was involved in a gang, Baljet said, or that the shooting is gang-related. 

The shooting was originally linked to a 911 call about an assault with a deadly weapon in the 4200 block of Woolwine Drive in East Los Angeles about 11:10 p.m., Baljet said. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found evidence of a shooting — empty bullet casings on the street — but no evidence that anyone had been shot, Baljet said.

A short time later, the hospital reported a gunshot victim and the deputies went to investigate, thinking it might have been someone shot on Woolwine, Baljet said. Instead, they found Romo and his friend. No victim was ever discovered from a shooting on Woolwine, Baljet said. 

Anyone with information should call the Sheriff’s Department's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.