Jose Figueroa Jr., 22, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of November 30, 2025, in Lancaster, California. Deputies were sent to the 1700 block of East Avenue J-4 around 12:07 a.m. after reports of a shooting and found Figueroa, a Latino male known to friends and family as Giovanni, lying in a parking lot with at least one gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Witnesses told investigators the shooting followed a confrontation in which a man produced a handgun and fired; the shooter then fled the complex in a vehicle, heading eastbound. Detectives later arrested 56-year-old Michael Bates at about 5:00 p.m. that same day on suspicion of murder; he was booked and held at the Men’s Central Jail with bail set at more than two million dollars.

Giovanni was remembered by family as generous, thoughtful and protective, with a passion for barbering and hopes of traveling and starting a family. Does anyone who knew Jose or who was in the area that night have information that could help clarify what happened?