Javier Morales, a 32-year-old Latino man, was shot and killed on January 6, 2020, near East 41st Place and Avalon Boulevard in the Historic South-Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. The shooting occurred in the early morning hours and Morales was pronounced dead at the scene by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office. Authorities immediately classified the death as a homicide.

The Los Angeles Police Department canvassed the area, reviewed surveillance footage and collected forensic evidence. A witness later gave a detailed description of a person seen fleeing, which led police to identify and arrest an individual who was charged with homicide and is awaiting trial. Morales’s family also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the person they allege was responsible.

Vigils and memorials have been held in Morales’s honor and the case has drawn attention to gun violence in the community. If anyone has information about the shooting or knew Javier, please share what you know with investigators.