Hector Castro, a 49-year-old Latino man, was shot and killed on April 30, 1992, in Los Angeles during the citywide riots. Coroner’s records state he was shot outside a block of retail shops at Vermont and Leeward avenues in Koreatown by an unknown gunman amid looting and chaotic street violence. Investigators were hampered by the scale of the unrest, widespread arson and looting, and destruction of potential evidence; the chaotic conditions made it difficult to identify witnesses or suspects. Coroner and homicide records continue to list his death as an unsolved homicide, and there have been no significant developments reported in identifying or arresting a suspect.

Castro’s family has not been reported as pursuing prominent legal actions connected specifically to his death. The case remains a reminder of the many individual tragedies from the riots that were never resolved. If anyone has information about the shooting at Vermont and Leeward avenues on April 30, 1992, please come forward.