Tauvaaga Judy Lauvai, 53, was shot and killed during a family gathering in Carson, California, on June 16, 2018. The shooting happened about 9 p.m. at her mother-in-law’s home on Island Avenue while the family was celebrating an early Father’s Day. Lauvai was struck in the chest; despite CPR by her husband she was pronounced dead at a local hospital. A 27-year-old male relative suffered a nonfatal leg injury in the same attack.

Officials say the shooter fired from a vehicle; investigators recovered surveillance footage identifying the vehicle as a silver Nissan Altima, model years 2005–2012. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has described the motive as unclear and has indicated Lauvai may not have been the intended target. A $35,000 reward has been offered for tips leading to an arrest, but no suspect has been apprehended.

Lauvai’s family remembers her as a devoted mother, wife, grandmother, church member and someone connected to her Samoan heritage. The LASD Homicide Bureau is asking anyone with information to come forward. Did anyone at the gathering or in the neighborhood see the silver Altima that night?