Miguel Ibarra Lopez, 37, of Wasco, California, was shot and killed on the night of August 27, 2019. He was found with a gunshot wound to the chest in the 2300 block of Camellia Street after being outside playing with his son; family members who were inside the house ran out and found him lying face down in rose bushes. Paramedics arrived shortly after 9 p.m. and pronounced him dead at the scene.

In the days before the shooting Lopez had told family he felt paranoid and believed someone was out to get him; his daughter Monica Lopez said he had been suspicious of being followed since his release from prison earlier that year. The family says he was trying to turn his life around and was a dedicated father, and they regret not taking his fears more seriously. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has an active investigation and no suspects have been identified.

If anyone has information about what happened that night or the unfamiliar cars and people seen near the house, please come forward to help the investigation.