Cedric Dominic Beadega-Staten, 31, was shot and killed on November 1, 2016, in the 1000 block of El Segundo Boulevard in Athens, just north of Gardena. Around 7 p.m. he parked his silver Honda sedan at the Liquor and Joy store, went inside to make a purchase and got into an argument with another customer, a 21-year-old man. Both men were affiliated with different gangs and, according to surveillance footage, the argument escalated; each man drew a handgun and both were shot in the chest as they exited the store.

Beadega-Staten managed to drive a short distance before crashing into a No parking sign and was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:25 p.m. The other man collapsed nearby, was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and survived. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reviewed store surveillance and described the killing as gang-related; no arrests were immediately made while the district attorney weighed whether the surviving man should face homicide charges or acted in self-defense. Authorities asked the public for additional information.

Cedric Beadega-Staten had a prior arrest in February 2014 when he was charged with the murder of a taxi driver in Hawthorne after an alleged parking dispute; he was booked and held on $1,000,000 bond and charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

Did anyone in the area witness the argument or the shooting, or have footage that could help investigators?