Rene Alejandro Lupian was 22 when he was shot and killed on November 7, 2018, in the 900 block of South Concourse Avenue in East Los Angeles. Investigators say the shooting began as a robbery after Lupian finished his shift at the Pico Rivera In-N-Out Burger and stopped at a nearby Little Caesar’s to pick up pizzas for his family. Witnesses heard yelling, saw an assailant punch Lupian and then shoot him; Lupian was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 11:07 p.m. The cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head and neck.

Lupian was carrying a dark-colored Jansport backpack and wearing a gold necklace with a cross given to him by his grandmother. Police said the robbers fled with the backpack; a white compact vehicle was seen leaving the area and was later recovered by detectives. Authorities reported Lupian surrendered the backpack but resisted when his chain and cross were taken, and that resistance led to the fatal shooting.

Rene’s family remembered him as kind and polite, a University High School graduate who studied at Antioch University and enjoyed writing. Does anyone have information about Lupian’s last movements that night or about the white compact vehicle seen leaving the scene?