Kaitlyn Valdovinos, 18, was shot and killed near Ernie Shropshire Park in Stockton, California, on March 22, 2024. Officers responding to a welfare check around 5 a.m. found her with a fatal gunshot wound; she was pronounced dead at the scene. A 20-year-old woman was also found with gunshot injuries and is expected to survive.

Kaitlyn recently moved from Lynwood to Stockton to live with her father and was preparing for an April 12 DMV test. Her mother, Rosemary Aceves, described her as an honor roll student who loved baking, her cats, and planned to celebrate her 19th birthday in May. Kaitlyn told her mother via FaceTime she was going shopping with a friend earlier that night and texted a cousin for help at about 4:05 a.m. before being found in the park. The reasons she was at the park in the early morning remain unclear.

In May 2024, Border Patrol arrested 23-year-old Francisco Ramirez; he was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on homicide charges. Authorities have not disclosed a motive or the events leading up to the shooting, and the investigation remains ongoing. If anyone near Ernie Shropshire Park has information or surveillance footage that could help, please come forward.