Briant Hicks, 35, was fatally shot in the torso in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles on August 17, 2024. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 4:57 a.m., and the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office classified the death as a homicide from a gunshot wound to the torso.

The Los Angeles Police Department opened an active investigation but has not publicly identified any suspects or announced arrests. Hicks had several prior encounters with law enforcement, including arrests for possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation or selling of a controlled substance, and being an addict in possession of a firearm; his most recent arrest was on June 4, 2024, for possession of a controlled substance for sale and a warrant related to a petition to revoke community supervision. Details about his family, relationships, and why he was in the Skid Row area at the time of the shooting remain unclear.

Anyone with information about the shooting or Hicks’s movements that night is asked to contact the LAPD.