Fifteen-year-old Darnell D.J. Jones was shot and killed on June 13, 2026, around 4 p.m. in the 18600 block of Gridley Road in Cerritos, California, across from the Los Cerritos Center. The fatal shooting occurred after a dispute outside a Chick-fil-A; an individual produced a gun, shot Darnell, and then fled on foot. Paramedics transported him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that day.

Darnell was a Black male who was looking forward to his junior year of high school. His father, Tyrell Jones, described him as a good kid whose life was taken by another youth. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department opened a homicide investigation; no motive, detailed suspect description, or arrests have been announced. Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact the homicide bureau or submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers.

Did anyone in the Cerritos area see the shooting or the person who ran from the scene that afternoon?