Store Employee Fatally Shot In Fairfax Area While Trying To Break Up Altercation Over Shoe Raffle, Suspect Sought
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Police were seeking a suspect Wednesday after a store employee was fatally shot in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles while trying to break up an altercation over a shoe raffle.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the shooting occurred around 12:20 p.m. on the 7700 block of Melrose Avenue near Shoe Palace.
When police arrived, they found a male in his 20s suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
He was identified as Jayren Bradford. Employees said the Shoe Palace where Bradford worked was having a raffle for a new pair of sneakers when a customer got into some sort of dispute with store employees.
Bradford's colleagues said he heard about the commotion and went to try to break up the fight when all of the sudden someone opened fire, shooting and killing him.
"Jay came from his car and confronted them saying, 'what's the problem and what's the deal' and everybody shifted their aggression towards Jay," said Keyshawn Williams, a coworker. "And they were here with other friends and they all surrounded him and that's when he was shot."
Police said the suspect is a Hispanic man in his 20s wearing dark clothing. Police said he fled the scene going north on Genesse Avenue in a silver Toyota Camry with a temporary license plate number BC10D32.
Investigators said they have been getting multiple descriptions for the suspect vehicle so, at the time, they are working on getting a firm identification and license plate.
They are also looking into security videos that may have captured the incident.
Anyone with information on the case was urged to call 877-LAPD-247.