15-year-old suspect arrested after Rio Linda teen shot, killed in his own front yard
RIO LINDA - A suspect is under arrest after a 17-year-old was shot to death in his Rio Linda front yard while his family was inside the house, but authorities are still looking for more info and possibly other suspects.
Authorities say it was a targeted attack.
"I don't know," said Irving Erez Herrera, who was one of the victim's best friends. "I don't know why anyone would do that."
Herrera wants justice for his friend whom he has known for about five years since they first met in middle school.
"He was a good friend," Herrera said. "He was always coming to my house to get his haircut."
He said the victim went to Rio Linda High School for two years before switching to homeschooling.
"Sometimes he would pass by here with his four-wheeler," Herrera said. "He would just say hi to everybody."
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, 911 dispatchers received calls reporting a shooting in the 6900 block of 22nd Street just after 2 a.m. on Sept. 18. At the scene, first responders found the teen dead from at least one gunshot wound.
Investigators believe several shots were fired at the teen, but beyond that, they have no information about what led up to the shooting.
Later in the week, the sheriff's office announced that one suspect - who is 15 years old - was arrested. Detectives noted that their investigation is still ongoing and that they're looking into the possibility of identifying other suspects.
"They need to be caught," said Chris Kamur who is the owner of a home down the street. "They need to be penalized for what their actions are."
Neighbors on the typically quiet rural road were shocked violence could happen so close to home. Bill Chvosta lives across the street with his wife and said she heard the gunshots in the middle of the night.
"She heard a loud noise," he said of his wife. "We thought it was possibly an auto accident or something."
Several people were at the home at the time of the shooting and are cooperating with the investigation, the sheriff's office said. The teen, whose identity has not been confirmed by the sheriff's office, does not have a criminal past and does not appear to have been targeted.
People want answers to why the 17-year-old, who was identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as Andres Julian Chavez, was targeted and why he was outside the home to begin with.
"It is very concerning. Very, very strange," said Kamur. "Never happened before."
Deputies are asking nearby residents for doorbell video or information about what they saw or heard prior to the incident.