Michael Lopez was 16 when he was shot and killed in Parlier, California, on December 15, 2012. Police were called to the Salandini Villa Apartments about 9:30 p.m. and found him inside his apartment with gunshot wounds; he was taken to Adventist Medical Center and later pronounced dead.

Authorities described the death as resulting from a confrontation between Michael and his uncle, Robert Sampson Lopez. Robert Lopez was arrested at the scene and charged with homicide; officers recovered a firearm from the apartment that they believed was used in the shooting. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Homicide Unit assisted the Parlier Police Department in processing the scene.

The shooting came nearly a year after another tragic loss for the family: in April 2011 Michael Lopez Jr., the victim’s son, was stabbed to death outside the same apartment complex in an incident thought to be gang-related; no suspects were arrested in that case. Does anyone have information about the events at Salandini Villa Apartments that night or knew the Lopez family?