Woman, boy fatally shot in Baldwin Park following domestic-related incident
A woman and child were fatally shot in Baldwin Park Sunday evening, as part of what authorities are referring to as a "domestic-related incident."
The shooting occurred just after 9:20 p.m. in the 4200 block of Merced Avenue near Bursch Elementary School, where arriving Baldwin Park Police officers found two individuals suffering from gunshot wounds.
The victims, a woman and a boy, were located in the backyard of the home and each had gunshot wounds to the upper body. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while the boy was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Coroner's Office identified the woman as 23-year-old Yesli Velazquez Gonzalez.
Authorities identified the boy, 6-years-old, as Angel Velazquez on Wednesday.
Officers detailed that the suspect was believed to have fled from the scene, and would not provide any further information on their identity.
Investigators with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have also identified him as Rigoberto Covarrubia, 36. He was Gonzalez's boyfriend, but not the boy's father.
Neighbors in the area were shaken by the events.
"I didn't go to sleep," said Brian Sanchez, who lives across the street from the crime scene and often saw the woman and boy walking to the elementary school together in the mornings.
Sanchez said that while he didn't know the neighbors very well, he had just seen them getting out of their car Sunday evening, hours before he heard five to six gunshots.
"The kid was happy," he continued. "You know, that's what hurts me - the kid was happy. He's not going to know he's gonna lose his life."
Sanchez said that when his father went to check it out, he saw someone leaving the house holding a gun. When they saw a man, whom they had seen at the house before several times, they didn't realize he was the shooter.
"I never thought it was gonna be him, he looked like a good guy," Sanchez added. "Never judge a book by its cover."