Armando Lara, 32, was shot to death and found near West 118th Street and Prairie Avenue in Hawthorne on October 17, 2025. First responders arrived in the mid-afternoon but could not save him. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified Lara and ruled the death a homicide from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau assisted Hawthorne police, canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses and cameras while the street remained cordoned off. Neighbors reported a sudden burst of gunfire and investigators said the shooting was the third deadly incident in the city that week. By the weekend, authorities had released Lara’s name and basic coroner findings but had not announced any arrests or provided a suspect description.

The motive remains unknown and the case is open. Does anyone have information about Lara’s final movements or what they might have seen around West 118th and Prairie on October 17?