The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is continuing its investigation into the murder of a teenage boy during a street takeover in Willowbrook.
Now the family of Joshua Montes De Oca is asking for anyone to come forward to help bring the person or persons responsible to justice.
The 15-year-old went to Willowbrook with a friend on Aug. 14, to see a “car show,” better known to L.A. residents as a street takeover.
The gathering was at the intersection of E. 135th Street and Avalon Boulevard. More than a week later, you can still see the skid marks from where cars were doing doughnuts and burnouts.
Joshua was standing on a sidewalk near the intersection when, just before midnight, bullets started flying. He was hit twice and died later at the hospital.
Family members still don’t know why Joshua, the youngest of six kids, was shot at.
“His passion was always the cars,” Joshua’s sister, Alma Medina told KTLA at the site of her brother’s death. “That’s what brought him over here. And that’s what ended up getting him hurt.”
A memorial now stands at the crime scene as the Sheriff’s Department searches for the culprit or culprits responsible for Joshua’s death.
Medina says her family is devastated. Her mother, so distraught at the loss of her youngest child, can’t bring herself to visit the memorial.
Medina is calling for more law enforcement to stop dangerous street takeovers, saying that’s “the only thing” they can ask for.
“Innocent children are getting killed,” she said.
Anyone with information about Joshua’s death is urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral and memorial costs.
